By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-22 00:11:09 | Updated at 2024-11-24 05:43:37
2 days ago
Matt Gaetz withdrew as President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general less than an hour after CNN confronted him with new allegations, the network revealed.
The former Florida congressman's stunning exit from consideration came as he was facing new allegations of a threesome involving a minor.
At the same time, the House Ethics Committee was deadlocked over whether to release a report on his alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.
CNN reported on Thursday that it confronted Gaetz with new reporting that a woman told the committee she had sex as a 17-year-old high school girl with the then-congressman twice at one party in 2017.
About 45 minutes after he was asked for comment on the story, Gaetz announced he was backing out of being Trump's nominee, the network said.
According to their reporting, the second alleged sexual encounter involving the teen also included Gaetz and an adult woman.
Both encounters were revealed in a separate civil deposition as part of a related lawsuit, CNN said.
Gaetz has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct.
Former Congressman Matt Gaetz withdrew from being Trump's nominee for attorney general on Thursday. It came after CNN asked him for comment on new reporting that he allegedly had two sexual encounters with a 17-year-old including a threesome
The adult woman allegedly involved in participating in the encounter with Gaetz and the 17-year-old also denied participating, CNN reported.
The Justice Department had its own investigation into Gaetz involving alleged sex trafficking involving a minor, but it closed the investigation last year without bringing charges.
Just before withdrawing his name, Gaetz had met with Republican senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday whose support he would have needed to be confirmed.
'I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many,' Gaetz wrote Thursday in his announcement on X.
'While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,' he continued.
Multiple senators had privately expressed concerns about whether Gaetz could be confirmed due to the ethics investigation about allegations of drug use, sex parties and sex with a minor.
Some senators had called for the release of the House Ethics Committee report.
House members on the committee had met on Wednesday to vote on releasing the report, but it was split along party lines. They instead decided to meet again on December 5.
A lawyer for the woman who was a minor at the time of the alleged sexual encounters has called for the report to be released. He said his client was in high school at the time and there were witnesses.
Matt Gaetz met with senators on Capitol Hill on November 20, one day before he withdrew as Donald Trump's attorney general nominee
Gaetz had already resigned from the House immediately following being named Trump's pick as the country's top law enforcement officer, meaning the committee had no jurisdiction over him putting the investigation findings in limbo.
In his resignation, Gaetz said he did not intend to be sworn in to the seat in January after winning reelection in November, but he can change his mind.
According to CNN, they informed Gaetz at 11:30 am ET Thursday that they had testimony a woman gave the House Ethics Committee that she had two sexual encounters with Gaetz at one party in 2017.
The woman, who was 17 years old at the time, testified that the second sexual encounter, which has not previously been reported, included another adult woman.
CNN said they had told Gaetz the story was going live at 12:30 pm ET.
He posted on social media at 12:24 pm ET he was withdrawing his nomination.
Donald Trump said he respected Matt Gaetz's decision to withdraw his nomination
Gaetz called Trump 'this am' and told him of his decision to withdraw, a source familiar told DailyMail.com.
Gaetz only made it eight days as Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department.
Trump said he appreciated Gaetz and expected great things from him.
'I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!,' the president-elect wrote on Truth Social.
Trump has 'no back up' for attorney general and is going 'back to the drawing board,' CNN reported.
He originally nominated Gaetz because he was struggling to find a candidate he liked, the network said.
