Embattled former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for attorney general, met privately Wednesday with Republican senators to promote his nomination while a divided House Ethics Committee kept secret a report of its probe into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use by the Florida Republican.
Republican senators who met with Mr. Gaetz at the Capitol said their discussions went well, and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina urged colleagues not to give in to an “angry mob” of Gaetz detractors.
“This process will not be a rubber stamp, nor will it be driven by a lynch mob,” Mr. Graham, ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. “My record is clear. I tend to defer to presidential Cabinet choices unless the evidence suggests disqualification.”
Democrats and some Republicans say they want to see the details of the Ethics Committee’s investigation, which ended when Mr. Gaetz resigned his House seat last week. But the 10-member House panel deadlocked along party lines Wednesday on the question of releasing the report.
“There was no agreement by the committee to release the report,” Committee Chair Michael Guest, Mississippi Republican, told reporters.
The committee’s top-ranking Democrat, Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, took issue with Mr. Guest’s characterization of the meeting. She told reporters that his comments “betrayed” the panel’s secretive process, and that the committee would again meet on Dec. 5 to further deliberate the matter.
SEE ALSO: Senate Dems call on FBI to release Gaetz file
“There was no consensus on this issue,” she said.
The report centers around the committee’s long-running probe regarding accusations against Mr. Gaetz of sexual relations with a minor, illicit drug use and obstructing a federal investigation. It gained newfound importance since he was tapped by Mr. Trump to lead the Justice Department.
Mr. Gaetz was accompanied in closed-door meetings Wednesday by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Ohio Republican who will leave his Senate seat on Jan. 3.
Mr. Graham said he is committed to allowing the confirmation process to go forward in a manner consistent with past practices and “fundamental fairness.” He said critics of Mr. Gaetz are treating “unverified allegations … as if they are true.”
“I would urge all of my Senate colleagues, particularly Republicans, not to join the lynch mob and give the process a chance to move forward,” he said. “After years of being investigated by the Department of Justice, no charges were brought against Matt Gaetz. This is something we should all remember.”
Judiciary GOP Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, John Cornyn of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri also met with Mr. Gaetz. Ms. Blackburn said the meeting was “great” and said she looks “forward to a speedy confirmation for our next attorney general.”
SEE ALSO: GOP senators say meeting with Gaetz, Vance went well
Mr. Hawley said he hopes his colleagues will “at least allow these folks to get through their hearings and testify.” He said he thought it was “helpful” that Mr. Gaetz was with Mr. Vance.
Sen. John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, and Judiciary Committee member, also said he met with Mr. Gaetz. He said when it comes to the committee report, the House should just “follow the rules.”
But, he also said a leak of the report is possible.
“It’s been my experience in Washington, this place leaks like a wet paper bag, so I would assume that anything that’s out there will likely be made public,” he told reporters. “I’m not predicting that, but I’m not going to faint with surprise if it happens.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican and Judiciary Committee member, agreed that the information in the report is likely to become public in some manner.
“Does anybody really think when Congressman Gaetz comes before the Judiciary Committee that the Democrats aren’t going to do their best to reverse-engineer that entire report?” he said. “So the information is going to be out there, folks. It’s just going to be when the nomination occurs, to the extent that it’s substantiated. So let’s get rid of the notion that somehow we’re not going to know anything about the nominee. It will be out there in the same way that Brett Kavanaugh yearbook was out there.”
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican who is expected to chair the Judiciary Committee next Congress, said he was not participating in this week’s meetings because he already spoke to Mr. Gaetz last Wednesday night, shortly after Mr. Trump announced his nomination.
He didn’t say whether he would request the ethics report’s findings, but said he is confident the Judiciary Committee will obtain all the information it needs to process the confirmation.
He also said the committee’s approach to assessing the allegations against Mr. Gaetz would follow a similar process as confirmation proceedings for Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, which included various allegations of sexual misconduct.
• Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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