Matt Gaetz heads to Capitol Hill to pitch AG bid as ethics panel meets

Controversial ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz headed to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to pitch his troubled bid to be President-elect Trump’s attorney general as a House ethics panel met to decide whether to release a report into his alleged sex-and-drug hijinx.
The scandal-tarred attorney general nominee pleaded with several Republican senators to keep an open mind on his effort to win the post in a high-stakes confirmation hearing expected early in 2025.
Gaetz was accompanied by Vice President-elect JD Vance, who is trying to smooth the waters for the ex-lawmaker accused of having sex with paid female escorts, including at least one who was underage, in drug-fueled romps.
“He deserves a chance to make his argument why he should be attorney general,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said. “No rubber stamp, no lynch mob.”
Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate, meaning Gaetz can likely only afford to lose the support of three GOP senators to be approved.
Trump himself is publicly standing by Gaetz, calling the nomination the most important pick in his forthcoming cabinet.
But behind closed doors, Trump reportedly admitted to aides that Gaetz’s bid is on shaky ground.
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee also met behind closed doors after delaying a session that was set for last week.
The panel, which includes five Republicans and five Democrats, could decide whether to release the report on Gaetz it compiled after hearing months of evidence about his alleged misdeeds.
Gaetz abruptly resigned his House seat last week, an unusual step that may have been designed to short-circuit the impending release of what is said to be a damaging report.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he doesn’t support making the report public because Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress.
But senators on both sides of the aisle say they want to see the document as part of their confirmation process for Gaetz. It’s unclear if the Senate has the power to strong-arm the House into handing over the report.
The Gaetz scandal shows little sign of dying down as more details emerge about his flings with young paid female escorts.
A lawyer for two of the women said late Tuesday that Gaetz paid them more than $10,000 for sex. One of the women was just 17 when Gaetz had sex with her on an air hockey table during a 2017 Florida house party, she said in a sworn deposition.
Federal prosecutors investigated Gaetz, but eventually decided not to charge him with statutory rape or sex trafficking over drug-fueled parties and luxe vacations to New York and the Bahamas.
Democratic senators from the Judiciary Committee Wednesday issued a letter asking FBI Director Christopher Wray to provide the evidence file from the case, Politico reported.
“We must be able to thoroughly review all relevant materials that speak to the credibility of these serious allegations against Mr. Gaetz,” the letter reads.