Matt Gaetz feels the heat
President-elect Donald Trump is dead serious about making him attorney general. Speaker Mike Johnson is pledging to bury a critical House Ethics Committee report into his alleged personal misconduct. But expect this to be a very uncomfortable week for former Rep. Matt Gaetz all the same.
There is new pressure to publicize details from investigations centering on allegations of underage sex and drug use by the Florida Republican as a potentially tawdry and dramatic confirmation battle takes shape.
First off: An attorney representing two women who testified to both federal and House Ethics investigators about Gaetz’s alleged misdeeds is coming forward with new details about what his clients told investigators. Lawyer Joel Leppard is set to do multiple network TV interviews Monday as he pushes for the release of the House Ethics report, and he gave Playbook a sneak preview last night:
— His clients, he said, told investigators they attended more than five and as many as 10 “sex parties” with Gaetz between the summer of 2017 and the end of 2018, during his first term in the House. At those parties, they testified, there were “group sex situations” and illegal drugs were present.
— One of Leppard’s clients told investigators she witnessed Gaetz “having sex with her friend,” who was underage at the time, against what she recalled as some sort of game table, according to Leppard.
Gaetz has strenuously and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. The federal investigation that Leppard’s clients participated in ended without charges against Gaetz, according to his lawyers and Justice Department officials.
But Leppard — and many on Capitol Hill — believe that a lack of criminal indictment is a much lower bar than a prospective attorney general should be meeting, and they are looking to the as-yet unpublished House Ethics report to provide further details. Leppard said his media blitz is aimed at protecting his unnamed clients, who have not ruled out coming forward in the future
“Ultimately, I hope it puts a lot of pressure on the panel to release the report,” he 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.”
Asked about the allegations, a spokesperson for the AG-designate made reference to the current AG: “Merrick Garland’s DOJ cleared Matt Gaetz and didn’t charge him. Are you alleging Garland is part of a cover up?”
Meanwhile, the Democrats charged with vetting Trump’s nominees are privately exploring how to gather more information on the sexual misconduct allegations that are bearing down on both Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for Defense secretary who is alleged to have paid a settlement to a woman who accused him of sexual assault. (Like Gaetz, Hegseth has strongly denied wrongdoing.)
Importantly, Democrats are discussing what they can do now, while they hold the committee gavels and subpoena power that they will give up when the new Congress gets underway in January.
On the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic members have discussed requesting the FBI file on Gaetz, which could include records of any interviews conducted as part of the now-closed investigation. They’re likely to do so before the end of the year, knowing Trump could order those materials to be withheld once he assumes office.
They’re also considering making contact with the attorney of the woman who told the House Ethics Committee that Gaetz had sex with her when she was a minor. That lawyer, John Clune, called for the report to be released “immediately” last week.
Public hearings aren’t under consideration at the moment, but Democrats say that behind-the-scenes conversations with the women’s representatives — or possibly interviews with women themselves — could serve as preparation for confirmation season should the GOP circle the wagons around Trump’s nominees.
Even in the minority, Democrats will get the right to call witnesses during confirmation hearings, and they are discussing the possibility of calling the women to testify if they are willing.
“We ought to be marshaling all of the objective and relevant evidence necessary to assess the confidence, character and moral compass of each nominee,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), who sits on the Judiciary and Armed Services panels. “And if those materials are denied, or concealed, and if witnesses with relevant information are willing to come forward, they should be given an opportunity to do so.”
That, Blumenthal added, includes the woman who accused Hegseth of sexual assault and subsequently signed a nondisclosure agreement.
“A private agreement on nondisclosure should be preempted by an Armed Services hearing on the confirmation of a nominee,” he said. “And we would expect any nominee to waive any rights under nondisclosure.”
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