Gaetz nomination brings new focus on underage sex allegations

Matt Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general has reopened a central question that has been probed by the Justice Department he now hopes to lead, and by the Congress from which he just resigned: Did he engage in sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl and violate sex-trafficking laws? After the Justice Department dropped its investigation into those explosive allegations in 2023, the House Ethics Committee restarted its probe into Gaetz, and it was slated to release its report Friday. Gaetz’s resignation from the House on Wednesday means the committee no longer has jurisdiction over him, but the panel is under increasing pressure to release its findings — including from an attorney representing the woman who has been at the center of the claims..