Ethics Committee Cancels Meeting. ‘Gaetz -Gate’ Cover-Up?

Today’s question is whether the House Ethics Committee (the Republicans at least) is just trying to buy some time or is already signing on to a COVER UP of Matt Gaetz sleaziness and likely criminal activity.  Lord knows Gaetz has pulled out every stop for a long time now to keep that report from coming out.  The thing is, the Ethics Committee is one of those few ‘institutions’ that have remained fairly evenhanded in their dealings. Staffed with serious members from both sides of the aisle who have an eye on the credibility of their work and the long-term good of the House of Representatives. Clearly however the narrowness of the GOP majority affected the release of that report last year. Now? All bets are off. Are the Republicans on the committee simply trying to buy a little time or have they decided to sell-out to Trump/GOP corruption?  I don’t think there’s any doubt they would have preferred to see Gaetz’s smarmy butt kicked out a year ago!

Take a good look at the title picture. Ted Cruz has long held the title of ‘Most Hated Senator’ with pretty much all the other 99 loathing him. Yet unless I’m wrong no Senator physically tried to attack Cruz, much less on the Senate floor with most of them present! Over in the more unruly House there’s been Congress Critters hated by a huge chunk of the body and on a bi-partisan basis. However in recent years Bratty Matty Gaetz has become the House version of Ted Cruz. To the point where as you can see a fellow Republican had to be physically restrained (it took more than one person in fact) from kicking Gaetz’s ass with the country watching!

What’s behind all this hatred? Well, Gaetz shares a trait with Cruz in being one of those ‘bomb throwers’ who try to blow up the whole place. Those reading this mostly don’t like what many in the GOP caucus believe about what government should or should not do but the bulk of them are there to try to get things done. Some even are (to MAGA’s, “Horrors!’) willing to work out deals with Democrats on important matters to get things done. Gaetz wants NONE of that. But he’s got shall we say “issues” because of his sleazy, sketchy background.

You know the broad strokes. Bad behavior before parlaying his dad’s money and stature to get elected in the first place. In a district where those “Christians” would vote against Jesus himself for having the letter D after his name. But as we know Gaetz never grew up past being the Party Boy who because of who he was could get away with all manner of sleazy, and even illegal stuff. Drugs. Hiring hookers. Hiring UNDERAGE hookers and associating with his share of equally despicable, sleazy people. Hell, he even liked to whip out his phone on the House floor and share photos of him ‘getting it on’ with girls who’s age was questionable!

Gaetz found himself being investigated by both the feds and the House Ethics Committee. One of Gaetz’s pals is currently serving over four years in prison for stuff he did along with Bratty Matty. I rather doubt he’s going to be helpful or supportive during a Gaetz confirmation hearing. Don’t be surprised if he meets a similar fate as Jeffrey Epstein. Gaetz managed to avoid federal charges. No doubt the fact he was a sitting Congress Critter was a factor. So was the level of pressure and threats to one of the best witnesses against him, and other women who were exploited.  Without at least one witness willing to face down Gaetz and his rabid attack dog lawyers in open court the case fizzled.

However the House Ethics Committee got involved. In a seemingly ‘forever’ investigation we’ve been told for the better part of two years they were ready to drop their report – and by all accounts that would be the end of Gaetz. His colleagues, even a majority of Republicans would vote to expel him. Ah, but with a razor thin majority that promised to be and then was unworkable there was George Santos. HE got expelled and the GOP was scared to kick out someone else. Through all this a furious and terrified Gaetz has pulled every stunt he can to keep that report buried.

The House Ethics Committee is famously opaque. It “speaks” when it wants to and the only other DC institution who’s deliberations are as secretive that comes to mind is SCOTUS. Only when they issue a decision does either reveal what they’ve decided and why.  There are hints of course, and it was known from cryptic bits of information Gaetz would be in deep shiite when the report was released. Maybe even in legal jeopardy again. The Ethics Committee has had a pretty solid reputation over time. It’s made up of an equal number of members of each Party.  And like the Select Committee on Intelligence was before the first Trump term known for leaving partisanship at the door.

Gaetz was furious that for all of MAGA’s threats, the Ethics Committee just went about its work. So he tried to stop it. He went so far as to engineer the debacle we saw play out live over days with the selection of now former Speaker McCarthy. Gaetz wanted, demanded even (of that we can be sure) that McCarthy force the Ethics Committee to drop the case. To close it and probably shred and burn the shreddings of every document. Pull every hard drive and flash drive that had been used along the way and dump them into a big vat of molten steel in some steel plant. Then drop it all in miles deep ocean.

McCarthy didn’t comply so Gaetz engineered his ouster.  An already embarrassingly dysfunctional and unproductive House was suddenly even more so. Add in the circular firing squad spectacle of replacing McCarthy and I’ll bet most Republicans wish Gaetz’s would be attacker had gotten to him. Given him such a beatdown he left DC never to return.  Everyone, even most Republicans were EAGER for that Ethics report so that they could vote to expel him. Alas, as I said they also had the Santos problem.

Even though the GOP is projected to hold the House they will have an even slimmer margin than before. Also, since Trump has tapped some of them for the administration they are going to be short for several months or more until special elections can be held. Now, Gaetz himself has resigned and it’s effective as I write this. More on that later.

One doesn’t have to be a news junkie to know that the nomination of Gaetz to be Attorney General is one of the most controversial cabinet  picks ever. Of course given some of the others in the past day or two it’s watered down a bit but as AG nominations it’s in a league of its own when it comes to appalling. That Ethic Committee report was a big freaking deal before but now it’s HUGE.  It’s not just Democrats that want to see it, if only via what will already be a contentious confirmation for Gaetz. I’m sure plenty of GOP Senators want it out there too. They need cover to vote against Gaetz if Trump refuses to pull the nomination.  (That’s a whole different thing to talk about)

Make no mistake though, Gaetz resigned and did so effective immediately to try and prevent the Ethics Committee from releasing that report. They were scheduled to meet this morning and likely vote to put the thing out there. However as (among others) The Hill reports that meeting suddenly got cancelled:

Before Gaetz’s nomination, the committee, known for operating in secrecy, had scheduled a Friday meeting to vote on whether to release its long-awaited report into the Florida Republican. Punchbowl News first reported on the meeting, which a source familiar confirmed to The Hill.

On Tuesday evening, the source said the group was still slated to meet.

But Thursday night, the source said plans to meet had been canceled. Republicans on the panel did, however, huddle among themselves that evening, the source said. CNN first reported on the development.

Unsurprisingly when asked for comment it was crickets from the Ethics Committee.  To be fair since Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress they no longer have any jurisdiction in the matter. Still, they’ve been under intense pressure for over a year to release their findings and have kept holding off. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the Republican members hoped for not just the GOP to retain control of the House but to increase their majority. It’s been apparent since early in the week they will only get the first half of that. Frankly that’s why I was surprised they were saying as late as Tuesday night that this morning would be “the” moment.

Then Trump, totally out of the blue went and named Gaetz as his AG pick. It gave Gaetz the perfect excuse to exert still more pressure to bury the report by resigning – before this morning’s scheduled Ethics Committee meeting. Whether it will ultimately work remains to be seen. It would be unusual BUT there is precedent for the Ethics Committee to release a report on a former member of the House:

While the panel’s probe into Gaetz has officially ceased, the committee could still release its report into the ex-congressman — a rare move, though one that has some precedent. In 1987, the panel released its report into former Rep. William Boner (D-Tenn.) after he resigned from the House.

The fighting over releasing that report is fiercely intense and it’s certain to get more so in the days and weeks ahead if the Ethics Committee keeps it hidden. I don’t know if there’s ever been a leak from that committee. I suspect not. It would be the kind of bombshell we saw when the draft of the Dobbs decision was made public. Of course, it’s pretty clear it was Alito and/or Thomas who were responsible because they wanted to exert pressure on Roberts and the other Federalist Society F**kwads to give in and sign on.  It worked but the point is that a Republican did the deed. (Which is why for all the huffing and puffing Roberts never really wanted to ID the culprit) I don’t see a Republican or one of their staffers on the Ethics Committee doing the same thing.

Given the sh*t show the last Congress was, and that the next one will be even worse it would only take one GOP member to decide ‘To hell with it. I’m done’, grow a spine and break the deadlock.  And the report would be released. I also don’t think it will be just Democrats over in the Senate demanding to see it. If not publicly quite a few Republicans will want it out there too for the reason I’ve already given – it gives them the political cover they need to vote NO on Gaetz if publicly announcing they’ll do so doesn’t force Trump to pull the nomination.

For now I’m leaning towards a huge campaign having been mounted – a COVER UP campaign and so far it’s working. It’s late afternoon and no word on when the Ethics Committee plans to meet to deal with this mess. A mess they could have and should have dealt with this morning.  Stay tuned folks.  This is going to be ugly on a scale not yet seen.

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