The Gaetz Ethics Report Must Be Released
And PROOF Republicans won’t do normal background checks (+ my thoughts on sexiest man alive)
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
If you are looking for the perfect gift for the holiday season, nothing is better than a functioning democracy. Democracy in Retrograde is currently $20 on Amazon and $27 on Bookshop.
I’m taking some time away from the internet and my phone this week to visit the Mayo Clinic. That means slightly less content than usual, but I know all of you will understand prioritizing my health. I want to keep doing what I do with you for a VERY long time.
The House Ethics Committee will meet this Wednesday to discuss its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz - see my Instagram for a script to call your reps about releasing the report.
My DMs were exploding last week when Matt Gaetz was named as Trump’s pick to be the Attorney General.
Most people in my orbit didn’t even know Gaetz was a lawyer. That’s probably because he’s much better known for a slew of other terrible things.
There has been much speculation over whether this nomination is serious or intended as a distraction from the other controversial appointments on the table. Trump’s strategy, intentionally or not, has us all talking, debating, and yes, even cringing.
“He’s getting what he wants, regardless, which is: I’m standing here, and we’re all standing here, wasting our time talking about a guy who is literally worse than the gum on the bottom of my shoe,” Rep. Max L. Miller (R-Ohio) told reporters after the Gaetz announcement
Trump nominated Gaetz just days before the House Ethics Committee was set to release the report about whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, and accepted improper gifts. After the nomination, Gaetz resigned from Congress. If a lawmaker is under investigation by the committee and resigns, the Ethics Committee stops the investigation.
But they can technically still vote to release the report. The immediacy of the resignation seemed suspect and many see the move as a ploy to stop the release of the ethics report. “This wasn’t to get the seat filled quicker or anything like that. I mean, it was just to try to prevent that report from going out,” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho).
Let’s talk about the report:
On April 9, 2021, the Committee announced it had initiated a review into allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct. The Committee deferred its consideration of the matter in response to a request from the Department of Justice (DOJ). In May 2023, the Committee reauthorized its investigation after DOJ withdrew its deferral request.
Representative Gaetz has categorically denied all of the allegations before the Committee. Notwithstanding the difficulty in obtaining relevant information from Representative Gaetz and others, the Committee has spoken with more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas, and reviewed thousands of pages of documents in this matter. Based on its review to date, the Committee has determined that certain of the allegations merit continued review.
The whole thing is very messy (as is everything related to Gaetz). In 2023 Gaetz led the successful effort to oust Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He has repeatedly alleged that the investigation into him is mere personal animus for that. “This is Soviet. Kevin McCarthy showed them the man, and they are now trying to find the crime,” Gaetz posted on X.
There’s a lot of questions about if the Senate will be willing to confirm Gaetz, who in addition to his penchant for screwing over the Republican party, has been investigated for the alleged rape of a minor. He’s also lacking in experience and is a deeply unlikable dude who has earned very few friends on the Hill. I’ve got three theories about this nomination. Bear with me here.
Trump genuinely wants Gaetz, one of his most loyal servants, to be his AG. His goal is to punish his enemies, disregarding the rule of the law, and he needs someone who will be his henchman.
This is a strategic move to force allies into defending an extreme choice, a tactic of dominance to create a glidepath towards authoritarianism.
This is a distraction and a placeholder so the administration can later introduce, and successfully confirm, a slightly less controversial candidate.
Jo and I talk about all of it on the latest episode of our podcast We’ve Got Issues
But more important than gaming out what is driving Trump’s nomination is making sure that the public and Congress know everything they need to know about Gaetz as he goes through this process. And that means both releasing the House Ethics Committee’s recent investigation into Gaetz and making sure the Congressional staffers have access to the FBI background check.
Last Thursday, Speaker Mike Johson said he’s “not involved” in the decision of whether or not the Ethics Committee releases the report.
And then 24 hours later he said, “I’m going to strongly request the Ethics Committee not issue the report because that is not the way we do things in the House.”
What happened in that intervening 24 hours? He went to Florida and visited President-elect Trump.
The report needs to be released. It is that simple. There's precedent for releasing the report. In 2006 the committee released their report about Rep. Mark Foley (R-Florida) and the sexually explicit messages sent to teenage House pages AND the cover-up that ensued. In 2011, the Senate Ethics Committee released a report about John Ensign (R-Nevada) after he resigned over his conduct attempting to cover up an extramarital affair.
Speaker Johnson called those two precedents “extraordinary circumstances” - I would posit that this man possibly being Attorney General is an extraordinary circumstance. At the end of the day, my two cents is that you don’t try to hide exculpatory evidence. If Gaetz really is innocent, why are people closing ranks to stop the release of the report?
Here are some things we do know:
An attorney representing two women who were witnesses in the House Ethics Committee's investigation into now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz is calling for the release of the committee's report, telling ABC News that one of his clients testified that she witnessed the Florida congressman having sex with a minor.
"My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor," Florida attorney Joel Leppard told ABC News.
The two witnesses, who ABC News is not naming, both allegedly attended parties with the congressman. Gaetz's one-time friend Joel Greenberg is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence after reaching a deal with prosecutors in May 2021 in which he pleaded guilty to multiple federal crimes including sex trafficking of the woman when she was a minor and introducing her to other "adult men" who also had sex with her when she was underage.
The woman, who is now in her 20s, testified to the House Ethics Committee that the now-former Florida congressman had sex with her when she was 17 years old and he was in Congress, ABC News previously reported.
The Biden administration’s justice department looked into sex trafficking allegations for several years and eventually determined they would not bring charges. (There’s a world in which he didn’t engage in sex trafficking but still engaged in behavior that disqualifies him from becoming Attorney General!)
The other thing I mentioned above is background checks. President-elect Donald Trump is allegedly planning to skip FBI background checks for some of his nominees (he’s using private background checks for his transition) and conservative activists have already started to lay the foundation to block Democrats from getting the information during the confirmation process. “In his first term, Trump allegedly ordered security clearances to be granted for at least 25 people whose applications were initially denied by the FBI due to concerns they could pose a danger to national security, a White House whistleblower told a congressional hearing in 2019.”
YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST:
On November 7, 2024 America First Legal released a report alleging that Senate staffers inappropriately shared background check data. Creating the specter of impropriety with trumped up investigations is a classic Republican move these days. I expect that in January we will hear more about this report as a foundation to prevent Democrats from getting critical information about the background checks of key Trump administration officials like Gaetz and Gabbard.
TAKE ACTION NOW:
Over the next 4 years we are going to have to engage in strategic activism, and I encourage you personally to make sure that your well stays filled. We need to focus on winning the House in 2026, and we need to be strategic about when to call on reps to act. I think America deserves to read the report about the Gaetz ethics investigation if he is going to be our chief law enforcement officer. The way it can be released is if the House Ethics Committee votes it so, that being said we can create pressure on all of Congress to push them to change their mind.
Go to my INSTAGRAM for a script to call your reps.
SEXIEST MAN
In other news, on IG this week someone asked me who I thought should win sexiest man alive and I was shocked that not everyone knew my answer - I thought I had NO CHILL. Subscribers get to find out my answer!