Gaetz meets with Senate Republicans as House ethics panel considers releasing report
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Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Trump's nominee for Attorney General, began meeting with Senate Republicans on Wednesday, while across the Capitol members of the House ethics panel are slated to consider releasing their report on allegations Gaetz had sex with a minor.
Since Trump announced Gaetz as his pick for the top law enforcement official — a surprise with other names believed to be in the mix — Senate GOP lawmakers have treaded cautiously about his nomination. Some publicly say he faces an uphill battle and will have an answer tough questions through the confirmation process. The Florida Republican is a loyal Trump defender and longtime conservative firebrand. He faced a probe by the House panel about participating in sex parties, using illegal drugs, and paying women for sex.
Gaetz resigned his seat before the panel voted on their report, and insists he did nothing wrong.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a senior member of the panel, told reporters he wanted to see the full record about Gaetz, and expected details of the ethics report would come out in some form. Senator Dick Durbin, the current chair of the panel, sent a letter to the panel requesting the report and records of the investigation be turned over immediately to the committee.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that releasing the report violated the practice of the panel not publicly revealing any information about probes of lawmakers who were no long members of the House, saying it would open "Pandora's box."
But House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest told NPR about the speaker, "He will not be influencing the decision of the committee. We will reach an independent decision as a committee when we meet."
The panel is composed of 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans and would require a majority vote to release the report.
Rep. Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters about the report, "it should certainly be released to the Senate, and I think it should be released to the public, as we have done with many other investigative reports in the past."
Kedric Payne, a former House ethics attorney and currently with the Campaign Legal Center, told NPR there are examples of the panel releasing their reports after members have left, "they absolutely can release it. They just typically don't."
Attorney for women reveals their ethics testimony
Joel Leppard, an attorney who represents two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee told NPR that his clients were among a group of four or five young women in the Orlando area who knew Gaetz and met up with him in 2017 and 2018. He said they testified that they attended sex and drug parties with Gaetz, who was then a sitting member of the House.
One of Leppard's clients told the committee that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a minor at a party in July of 2017. The woman also detailed how Gaetz paid them — with Venmo and PayPal, with notations and dates for each occasion.
Gaetz, who led the charge to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, alienated many of his fellow House Republicans for launching the chamber into weeks of chaos as they sorted out who to elect speaker. McCarthy openly said Gaetz was trying to end the ethics probe and that the committee needed to complete its work.
The Justice Department investigated Gaetz but declined to bring any charges. As the House ethics panel considered his case he publicly released his response to questions in September about engaging in sex with a minor saying "the answer to this question is unequivocally NO."
Trump, asked on Tuesday if he was reconsidering Gaetz's nomination, gave a firm "no." Several Republican senators argue Trump won the election and deserves to install the people he wants in top Cabinet positions.
Gaetz begins Hill outreach
Senator and Vice President-elect JD Vance accompanied Gaetz to his first set of meetings on Wednesday.
South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Judiciary panel, said he had a "very good meeting" with both Gaetz and Vance. He added: "I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true. I have seen this movie before." He didn't explicitly say he would vote for Gaetz, but urged his colleagues to "join the lynch mob" and give him the chance to make his case.
NPR's Claudia Grisales and Ryan Lucas contributed to this report.
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