An alternative version of the headline could be: "The Ethics Committee report on Gaetz may be released, according to the Hitchhiker's Guide."

For several days, Planet Chronicle has been informed that the House Ethics Committee no longer has any authority over former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

On Wednesday, Gaetz resigned from his position after being chosen by President-elect Trump to serve as attorney general.

No report has been released by the ethics panel investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use by Gaetz, as the panel canceled its meeting on Friday.

On Wednesday, House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., stated his thoughts on the Gaetz inquiry when asked.

If Mr. Gaetz resigns from Congress to take a position as Attorney General, the Ethics Committee loses jurisdiction and there will be no report issued. This is not unique to this case, said Guest.

The Ethics Committee typically handles outstanding ethics investigations involving former members in a similar manner.

However, it is not a hard and fast rule.

The Ethics Committee released its findings on potential influence peddling by the late Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., following his death in 2010, as reported by Planet Chronicle.

A 699-page report on former Rep. Bob Boner, D-Tenn., was released by the Ethics Committee after he left office in 1987. The committee discovered that Boner may have used campaign funds to travel to Hong Kong and possibly used his office to influence a defense contractor.

An Ethics Committee report can be dislodged from the floor.

The "question of privileges of the House" allows a lawmaker to argue that keeping the Gaetz ethics report confidential undermines the House's dignity and integrity. If the motion is successful, the ethics committee may be forced to release the report.

Did you ask House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., if Democrats could attempt to remove the Gaetz report from the Ethics Committee on Friday morning?

Could you imagine a situation where Democrats attempt to remove this ethics report through a parliamentary maneuver?

The Ethics Committee is a bipartisan committee with a history of having principled individuals on it. I defer to their decision and hope it is bipartisan.