Republicans on House Ethics reject release of report on Matt Gaetz

Washington: Hours before a House Ethics Committee voted to withhold a potentially explosive report detailing sexual misconduct allegations about Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for attorney-general, Trump sent J.D. Vance to lobby senators in support of Gaetz.

Vance, the vice president-elect, had lined up a series of talks on Capitol Hill hoping to usher in the nomination of Gaetz.

Vice President-elect J.D. Vance (right) and Senator John Kennedy walk out of a meeting with attorney general nominee, former Representative Matt Gaetz, at the Capitol.Credit: AP

“Donald J. Trump just won a major electoral victory,” Vance wrote on X ahead of the meetings.

“His coattails turned a 49-51 Senate to a 53-47 Senate. He deserves a cabinet that is loyal to the agenda he was elected to implement.”

In addition to the ethics committee inquiry, Gaetz was previously investigated by the Justice Department over sex-trafficking allegations.

He was never charged and denies any wrongdoing.

However, Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee wrote to the FBI on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) requesting the evidentiary file from the bureau’s probe, arguing that the “unanswered questions” regarding Gaetz’s alleged conduct were significant, given an associate pleaded guilty to the same sex-trafficking allegations.

“The grave public allegations against Mr Gaetz speak directly to his fitness to serve as the chief law enforcement officer for the federal government,” said the letter to FBI director Christopher Wray.

Matt Gaetz at the Republican National Convention.Credit: AP

“In order for the Senate to perform its constitutional duty in this instance, we must be able to thoroughly review all relevant materials that speak to the credibility of these serious allegations against Mr Gaetz.”

A lawyer for two women Gaetz is alleged to have had sex with also told CNN that House investigators had records of the then-congressman paying one of his clients more than $US6000 for sex and another woman more than $US4000.

“The testimony before the House was yes, that Representative Gaetz paid my client, both of my clients, for sexual favours throughout the summer of 2017 all the way to the beginning of 2019,” said lawyer Joel Leppard.

Gaetz has strongly denied the allegations, describing them as “invented”.

“This false smear following a three-year criminal investigation should be viewed with great scepticism,” Gaetz said in a statement to America’s ABC News.

The House Ethics Committee meeting, concluding on Thursday morning (AEDT) lasted more than two hours. At its conclusion the committee did not release their findings after the group, which is made up of five Democrats and five Republicans, became deadlocked on party lines. They will reconvene on December 5 to consider the matter further.

“There was no agreement by the committee to release the report,” said Mississippi Republican Michael Guest, who chairs the committee.

Trump has stood by his cabinet picks, with Vance and Gaetz meeting senators on Wednesday in the hope of shoring up more support.

Among them were Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Josh Hawley, who told reporters that Gaetz deserves a fair nomination process.

“Here’s what I told him: no rubber stamps and no lynch mob,” said Graham.

“He will be held to account in the confirmation process. He deserves a chance to make his argument why he should be attorney-general.”

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.Credit: AP

Vance plans to return to the Capitol on Thursday to hold similar meetings with Pete Hegseth, the Fox News anchor whom Trump has picked to run the Pentagon as the next secretary of defence.

Hegseth, 44, is facing allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, which he has denied.

His lawyer said he paid the woman through a non-disclosure agreement in fear that the revelation would result in Fox sacking him, but that the incident was consensual.

Hegseth was never charged, but the revelations about the alleged assault were said to have taken Trump’s team by surprise.

‘Strong warrior’

Trump continued to round out his cabinet on Wednesday, picking former acting attorney-general Matt Whittaker as the US ambassador to NATO, the global alliance that the president-elect has repeatedly expressed scepticism about.

In a statement, he described Whitaker as “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.”

Earlier, Trump picked World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder Linda McMahon to be his new secretary of education.

The 76-year-old is a close friend of the president-elect and a billionaire donor who, if approved by the Senate, will be in charge of a department that Trump has long been determined to dismantle.

“We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort,” Trump said in a statement.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service (1800RESPECT) on 1800 737 732.

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