Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., dropped his lawsuit that sought to block the release of his House Ethics Committee report since the committee made it public on Monday.
Gaetz filed a federal lawsuit attempting to block the report's release, since the committee had no jurisdiction over him because he had resigned from Congress.
"Due to the Defendant's unprecedented and procedurally defective decision to publicize the Report that was the subject of Plaintiff's Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order without notice to Plaintiff and while Defendants' knew or reasonably should have known of this pending action, Plaintiff has now suffered irreversible and irreparable harm," Gaetz attorney Jonathan Gross wrote in court filings. "As such, Plaintiff concurs that the instant action has been mooted and the Court now lacks subject matter jurisdiction to order the previously requested relief."
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama appointee, dismissed the case, writing "[C]onsistent with Plaintiff's Response to Order to Show Cause, this matter is hereby dismissed as moot. The Clerk of Court shall close this matter."