Donald Trump
Jacob Sullum | 11.19.2024 5:20 PM
The fact that former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz lacks relevant legal experience should be enough to kill his nomination as attorney general. The poor judgment he has repeatedly demonstrated, including pointless stunts and intraparty squabbles that irritated his Republican colleagues, only lengthens the odds of his confirmation. But the clincher may end up being the salacious details of a House Ethics Committee report that Gaetz would like to keep under wraps.
The committee reportedly looked into several possible ethical violations by Gaetz, including allegations that he had sex with an underage girl, used illegal drugs, accepted prohibited gifts, misappropriated campaign funds, and shared sexually explicit videos with his colleagues on the House floor. The New York Times describes the resulting report as "highly critical."
Because Gaetz gave up his seat after President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination, the House Ethics Committee no longer has any jurisdiction over him. As House Speaker Mike Johnson (R–La.) sees it, that should be the end of the matter. "I'm going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report, because that is not the way we do things in the House," Johnson said last Friday, adding that releasing the report "would be a terrible precedent to set."
Sen. John Cornyn (R–Texas), who sits on the committee that will consider Gaetz's nomination, sees things differently. "We need to have a complete vetting of the nominees, not only so we know that the nominee is qualified, but also to protect the president," Cornyn........