House speaker wants to protect Gaetz as rest of GOP trashes him
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Speaker Mike Johnson is still trying to protect attorney general nominee and now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz from public scrutiny, reiterating his demand that a report from the House Ethics Committee into allegations that Gaetz had sex with minors be kept sealed. The damning report into Gaetz’s behavior was set to be released last week. However, Gaetz abruptly resigned hours after Donald Trump nominated him to be the country’s top law enforcement officer. It was almost certainly an effort to keep the Ethics report from being released, as the committee no longer has jurisdiction over members of Congress once they are out of the chamber. “There’s a very important reason for the tradition and the rule that we always, have almost always followed. And that is that we don’t issue investigations and Ethics reports on people who are not members of Congress,” Johnson said in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “I’m afraid that that would open a Pandora’s box because the jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee is limited to those who are serving in the institution.” But not all Republicans agree with Johnson. Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who served with Gaetz in the House and has condemned Gaetz’s personal conduct, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the Senate should “have access” to the Ethics Committee report. “Now, should that be released to the public or not? I guess that will be part of the negotiations, but that should be definitely part of our decisionmaking,” Mullin said. YouTube Video Republican John Cornyn of Texas, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee panel that will hold hearings on Gaetz’s nomination, also wants to see the report, telling reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday, “We need to have a complete vetting of the nominees, not only so we know that the nominee is qualified, but also to protect the president.” Gaetz is loathed by many of his own colleagues, some of whom say Gaetz showed off videos of his sexual conquests on the House floor, and bragged about taking drugs in order to have sex for long periods of time. Republican Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, told CNN Trump nominating Gaetz, “It wasn't my decision to make, but I would have made it differently, I'll tell you that." GOP Rep. Austin Scott on picking Gaetz: “It wasn't my decision to make, but I would have made it differently, I'll tell you that." Rep. Tony Gonzales, who previously called Gaetz a "scumbag,” says: “Matt's kind of a quiet guy. We're all still trying to get to know who he is, but… pic.twitter.com/YcOmyH7oMC— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 18, 2024 “I’m looking at him as a member of Congress and the job that he has done here, and it has been abhorrent,” Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller told CNN, adding that Gaetz should not be attorney general. “I'm not the only one who thinks this way. I just say the quiet part out loud, and I wish other of my colleagues would have the same courage to do so.” Bad blood in the House GOP over Matt Gaetz. “I’m looking at him as a member of Congress and the job that he has done here, and it has been abhorrent,” said GOP Rep. Max Miller, who has feuded with Gaetz over the years. “I'm not the only one who thinks this way. I just say the… pic.twitter.com/N4upESPOvE— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 18, 2024 And Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, told CNN that “soon enough, the American people will get to know who he is”—a cryptic comment that suggests the public might find out what’s in the Ethics report after all. The House Ethics Committee is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss what to do with the report. The report is damning, Politico reported. At least one person testified before the committee that they witnessed Gaetz having sex with a minor at a party, ABC News reported. That witness’ lawyer, Joel Leppard, told Politico that the report should be released. “Ultimately, I hope it puts a lot of pressure on the panel to release the report,” Leppard said. “My clients have already been through this several times and they really, really do not want to testify again, especially not on the floor of the Senate.” Ultimately, Gaetz is one of a number of Trump nominees who have been accused of sexual misconduct. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, was accused of sexual assault in 2017. And Trump’s Health and Human Services nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was accused of forcibly groping a woman who worked as a babysitter for Kennedy’s kids. Trump really nominates the “best people.” Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/18/2287039/-House-speaker-wants-to-protect-Gaetz-as-rest-of-GOP-trashes-him?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main
Speaker Mike Johnson is still trying to protect attorney general nominee and now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz from public scrutiny, reiterating his demand that a report from the House Ethics Committee into allegations that Gaetz had sex with minors be kept sealed. The damning report into Gaetz’s behavior was set to be released last week. However, Gaetz abruptly resigned hours after Donald Trump nominated him to be the country’s top law enforcement officer. It was almost certainly an effort to keep the Ethics report from being released, as the committee no longer has jurisdiction over members of Congress once they are out of the chamber. “There’s a very important reason for the tradition and the rule that we always, have almost always followed. And that is that we don’t issue investigations and Ethics reports on people who are not members of Congress,” Johnson said in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “I’m afraid that that would open a Pandora’s box because the jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee is limited to those who are serving in the institution.” But not all Republicans agree with Johnson. Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who served with Gaetz in the House and has condemned Gaetz’s personal conduct, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the Senate should “have access” to the Ethics Committee report. “Now, should that be released to the public or not? I guess that will be part of the negotiations, but that should be definitely part of our decisionmaking,” Mullin said. YouTube Video Republican John Cornyn of Texas, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee panel that will hold hearings on Gaetz’s nomination, also wants to see the report, telling reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday, “We need to have a complete vetting of the nominees, not only so we know that the nominee is qualified, but also to protect the president.” Gaetz is loathed by many of his own colleagues, some of whom say Gaetz showed off videos of his sexual conquests on the House floor, and bragged about taking drugs in order to have sex for long periods of time. Republican Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, told CNN Trump nominating Gaetz, “It wasn't my decision to make, but I would have made it differently, I'll tell you that." GOP Rep. Austin Scott on picking Gaetz: “It wasn't my decision to make, but I would have made it differently, I'll tell you that." Rep. Tony Gonzales, who previously called Gaetz a "scumbag,” says: “Matt's kind of a quiet guy. We're all still trying to get to know who he is, but… pic.twitter.com/YcOmyH7oMC— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 18, 2024 “I’m looking at him as a member of Congress and the job that he has done here, and it has been abhorrent,” Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller told CNN, adding that Gaetz should not be attorney general. “I'm not the only one who thinks this way. I just say the quiet part out loud, and I wish other of my colleagues would have the same courage to do so.” Bad blood in the House GOP over Matt Gaetz. “I’m looking at him as a member of Congress and the job that he has done here, and it has been abhorrent,” said GOP Rep. Max Miller, who has feuded with Gaetz over the years. “I'm not the only one who thinks this way. I just say the… pic.twitter.com/N4upESPOvE— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 18, 2024 And Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, told CNN that “soon enough, the American people will get to know who he is”—a cryptic comment that suggests the public might find out what’s in the Ethics report after all. The House Ethics Committee is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss what to do with the report. The report is damning, Politico reported. At least one person testified before the committee that they witnessed Gaetz having sex with a minor at a party, ABC News reported. That witness’ lawyer, Joel Leppard, told Politico that the report should be released. “Ultimately, I hope it puts a lot of pressure on the panel to release the report,” Leppard said. “My clients have already been through this several times and they really, really do not want to testify again, especially not on the floor of the Senate.” Ultimately, Gaetz is one of a number of Trump nominees who have been accused of sexual misconduct. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, was accused of sexual assault in 2017. And Trump’s Health and Human Services nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was accused of forcibly groping a woman who worked as a babysitter for Kennedy’s kids. Trump really nominates the “best people.” Campaign Action
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/18/2287039/-House-speaker-wants-to-protect-Gaetz-as-rest-of-GOP-trashes-him?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main