Johnson to 'strongly request' House ethics panel not release Gaetz report

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday indicated he would ask that the House Ethics Committee not release its findings on former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., whom President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to serve as attorney general.

Johnson said he was "going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report," CNN reported. He further described the report's prospective release as a "terrible breach of protocol."

Gaetz was the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation, the findings of which have not been made public. The Department of Justice previously opted not to bring charges against him after a years-long sex-trafficking investigation.

He resigned from Congress after Trump named him his pick for attorney general, telling Johnson that his doing so would allow for his successor to be chosen when the new Congress convenes.