Members of the House Ethics Committee voted yesterday to release its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) despite no longer having any type of jurisdiction over former members of Congress.

Mainstream media was quick to publish claims that investigators found “substantial evidence” that Gaetz paid women tens of thousands of dollars for sex or illicit drugs as if the report’s salacious allegations were proven facts.

Gaetz’s attorneys had sought a last minute restraining order against the House Ethics Committee, saying the allegations within the report were potentially defamatory but the report was released before a U.S. District Judge would consider taking action.

By releasing unproven accusations of alleged impropriety regarding a private citizen over whom they have no jurisdiction, Gaetz’s lawyers said the report “represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections.”

Gaetz has denied the allegations against him of drug use and paying for sex.

This move on the part of the committee has raised questions as to why they would deliberately publish potentially damaging accusations that could cause lasting damage to Gaetz’s reputation.

After being nominated by President-elect Trump to be the next U.S. Attorney General, Gaetz withdrew his nomination but not before he had vowed to target Congress for insider trading and had referred to Ukraine as a money laundering operation.

Gaetz had been investigated by the U.S Dept. of Justice but was never indicted or charged with any crime related to the kinds of accusations made in the Ethics Committee’s report.

Meanwhile, that same Committee is keeping secret the members of Congress who are responsible for more than $17 million in taxpayer funds being paid out as hush money to settle sexual misconduct charges against them.

Between hiding actual misconduct while simultaneously feeding allegations to a hostile news media as if they were ironclad evidence, someone in the D.C. machinery seems determined to put Gaetz on trial in the court of public opinion where an accusation is as good as a conviction.