Ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz is back in Congress to convince senators why he should be appointed attorney general despite his “sex party” scandals.
He was accompanied by newly elected Vice President JD Vance, a sitting senator, and Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, who also serves in the Senate.
The trio has organized meetings with Republican senators to drum up support for Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general, though his many controversies could hamper their cause.
The House Ethics Committee will vote today on whether to release a damning report on Gaetz for allegedly having sex with a minor and using illegal drugs.
If made public, it would break with the precedent set by the panel, which no longer has jurisdiction over Gaetz now that he has resigned from Congress.
Speaker Mike Johnson emphasized Friday that he would not make the report public, but the committee said they would vote on whether to make the report public anyway.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are demanding access to the potentially damaging Gaetz dossier before he goes through the Senate confirmation process.
Many Republican senators have baulked at the thought of the rioter gaining even more power in Washington, so Gaetz, Rubio and Vance have their work cut out for them.
Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (L), President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to become attorney general, walks with newly elected Vice President JD Vance (R) as they arrive for meetings with senators at the U.S. Capitol on 20 November 2024 in Washington, DC.
Gaetz is meeting with senators as his nomination for attorney general is under fire following a House Ethics Committee report, which is expected to detail allegations of sexual misconduct.
Many Republican senators have publicly expressed reservations about Gaetz becoming AG
But after meeting with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Wednesday morning, the veteran senator released a statement calling on his colleagues not to participate in the “lynch mob” mentality that appears to have emerged following the nomination from Gaetz.
The statement sent a clear message that the meeting went well, and Graham urged his fellow Republicans to hold the tenant “innocent until proven guilty.”
“I had a very good meeting with President Trump’s nominee for Cabinet, Matt Gaetz, and newly elected Vice President JD Vance,” Graham said in a statement.
“I am committed to conducting the process in a manner that is consistent with past practices and fundamental fairness. This process will not be a rubber stamp, nor will it be driven by a lynch mob.”
Graham even went so far as to remind his colleagues that the Justice Department declined to prosecute Gaetz after reviewing the allegations against him.
“I would urge all my Senate colleagues, especially Republicans, not to join the lynch mob and give the trial a chance to move forward. After years of investigation by the Department of Justice, no charges were filed against Matt Gaetz. This is something we all need to remember.”
The South Carolina senator’s office was just one of several expected to be visited by Gaetz and Vance on Wednesday.
Still, that hasn’t stopped all Democrats and many Republicans from asking to read the report.
Joel Leppard of Leppard Law represents two women making allegations against Rep. Matt Gaetz
Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (C) and wife Ginger Luckey Gaetz talk with another guest at the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 14, 2024 in Palm Beach.
Former lawmaker Matt Gaetz used illegal drugs and went to sex parties, while a member of the House of Representatives, a lawyer for two women, Joel Leppard, claims
These desires are fueled by the recent testimony of Orlando-based attorney Joel Leppard, who represents two women who claim to have information about Gaetz’s allegedly grim past.
Gaetz allegedly partied, used drugs and paid women for sex repeatedly between 2017 and 2019 while serving in the House of Representatives, Leppard alleges.
The bombing allegations were at the center of the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into the ex-lawmaker, as the women reportedly testified before the panel.
According to Leppard, the Republican attended as many as ten “sex parties” where illegal drugs and “group sex situations” were present.
Both women represented by Leppard allege Gaetz paid them for sex through Venmo, the attorney alleges.
Gaetz paid more than $10,000 dollars to two women on Venmo between 2017 and 2019, ABC News reports.
“She testified (that) in July 2017, at this house party, she was walking toward the pool, and she looked to her right, and she saw Representative Gaetz having sex with her boyfriend, who was 17,” Leppard said Monday.
One of the witnesses claims she saw her friends having sex with Gaetz at a party in July 2017 at a gaming table believed to be an air hockey table.
The unnamed witness also says her friend was 17 years old at the time.