Likely incriminating Matt Gaetz report to be released after secret committee vote: CNN

Members of the House Ethics Committee have given critics of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) a last-minute gift just in time for Christmas.

CNN is reporting that the committee held a secret vote in which members supported releasing their report into Gaetz, who has faced allegations of drug use and paying a 17-year-old girl for sex.

"The vote, which has not previously been reported, amounts to a stark reversal for the panel after it had voted along party lines in late November not to release the results of the investigation," CNN reports. "The decision to release the report suggests that some Republicans ultimately decided to side with Democrats on the matter, and it is unclear if the committee will once again change course now that it has voted."

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Gaetz had initially been President-elect Donald Trump's choice to serve as attorney general but he withdrew within days of his nomination after it became clear that he would not get enough votes in the Republican-controlled Senate to get confirmed.