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Lawmakers demand ethics report on Matt Gaetz, Trump’s attorney general pick

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WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in both parties on Thursday called on a congressional panel to release the results of an investigation into alleged misconduct by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., demanding to see its report about sexual misconduct and other charges against President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the attorney general.

Gaetz abruptly resigned Wednesday after Trump announced he was the pick to lead the Justice Department, shocking many members of Congress who see him as unqualified and unfit for the post. His rapid exit effectively ended the ethics panel’s investigation into him two days before members had planned to vote on whether to release their long-awaited findings.

Since the spring of 2021, the House Ethics Committee has been investigating claims that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use and accepted impermissible gifts under House rules, among other charges.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who chairs the Judiciary Committee, which would have jurisdiction over confirming an attorney general, on Thursday called on the House panel to preserve and share its conclusions.

“The sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report,” Durbin said in a statement. “We cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people.”

Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., the chair of the Ethics Committee, suggested in comments to reporters that he was not inclined to release the investigative findings now that Gaetz has resigned.

“Once we lose jurisdiction, there would not be a report that would be issued,” Guest said.

That raised the possibility of a constitutional clash between the Senate, which is charged with vetting and confirming presidential nominees, and the House at the start of Trump’s second term. Trump has already threatened to circumvent the Senate and unilaterally appoint people to his administration during a recess, short-circuiting the normal process.



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Vandals uproot 60 new trees on St. Paul riverfront tossing many in the Mississippi River

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Sixty newly-planted trees along St. Paul’s riverfront were uprooted Wednesday night, and most were tossed into the water, in an act of vandalism costing tens of thousands of dollars.

“I’m incredibly sad. It’s hard to fathom,” said Karen Zumach, the director of community forestry for St. Paul-based non-profit Tree Trust, which contracted with the city to plant the trees with the help of high school students in October. “I like to think that trees are the least controversial thing we deal with these days.”

The trees were planted over two days along Shepard Road, in the area of Upper Landing Park and the Sam Morgan Regional Trail.

Photos taken by city staff Thursday showed a long row of piles of upturned dirt circling around holes in the ground where the trees once stood. All but 14 of them were tossed into the Mississippi River, rendering them unsalvageable, Zumach said.

The St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department estimated the damage comes to $40,000.

The St. Paul Police Department confirmed Thursday it received a report of the vandalism and an investigation is ongoing. The city parks department said in a statement the vandalism is believed to have occurred overnight.

The 14 trees that did not end up in the river have been reinstalled, Zumach said. The process to replace the others has yet to be determined, but the planting season has already passed.

About 25 high school students helped plant 250 trees while school was out during the annual MEA conference for state educators in October, Zumach said.



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Minneapolis council fails to override affordable Frey rental housing veto

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The Minneapolis City Council was unable to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s recent veto of an ordinance that would give some organizations first dibs on buying certain rental housing units in an effort to preserve affordable housing.

Under the proposal, if the owner of certain rental units wants to sell, they would have to give certain “qualified organizations” the first shot at buying their property, with exceptions for sales to renters or family members, for example.

Frey wrote in his veto letter that “now is not the time to make it harder to invest in our city’s housing stock.” He said while he agrees with the goal of preserving affordable housing, he doesn’t believe the ordinance will accomplish that in the current housing market.

“I appreciate the intention behind this ordinance, and in a different housing market when investment was more free-flowing, I may have a different perspective,” he wrote.

Supporters said the proposal would keep thousands of units of affordable housing available and prevent large investment firms from gobbling them up — and potentially hiking rents to reap profits.

The council voted 7-5 to override Frey, but needed nine votes.

Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, who co-authored the ordinance, argued when it was before the council on Oct. 31 that it would help small, local developers buy property that’s now being bought up by national investment firms or hedge funds.

Council Member Linea Palmisano said she was torn on the ordinance when it was before the council, saying the city has an affordable housing crisis, but that she was concerned about unintended consequences, such as whether first-time home buyers wouldn’t be able to compete. She voted for it then, but voted against an override on Thursday.



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Hills-Beaver Creek moves on to Nine-Player Prep Bowl

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Hills-Beaver Creek held off a late Mountain Iron-Buhl rally to win the first Nine-Player state semifinal Thursday at U.S. Bank Stadium, 26-20.

The Patriots had a 26-14 lead late, but fumbled the ball away at their own 5-yard line. Mountain Iron-Buhl capitalized on the turnover and scored right away, making the score 26-20.

Mountain Iron-Buhl got the ball back with 43 seconds remaining and moved into Hills-Beaver Creek territory, but Sawyer Bosch intercepted a pass to end the threat.

Hills-Beaver Creek will face the winner of the Fertile-Beltrami-LeRoy-Ostrander semifinal in the state championship Saturday, Nov. 23 at 10 a.m.



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