A group of Republicans is reportedly planning to follow through on a threat against members of Congress after they voted to release a report of sex trafficking allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
Gaetz resigned his seat in the U.S. House after members of Congress expressed angst at his nomination for U.S. Attorney General by President-elect Donald Trump. Gaetz withdrew his nomination and later accepted the offer to host a show on OANN.
‘All your sexual harassment and assault claims that were secretly settled paying off victims with taxpayer money.’
Now a plan to expose other members of Congress with sexual harassment accusations is coming together in the wake of the Gaetz debacle, according to Politico.
Some Republicans want to release information to the public about a slush fund to pay out hush money to accusers of members of Congress. Politico claims to have obtained a draft version of the legislation being composed in that effort.
The motion would reportedly publicly expose “each settlement of a complaint filed against the office of a Member of the House under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 that provides for the payment of funds which was approved by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee during any Congress.”
Gaetz was the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sex trafficking and underage sex assault. He has denied the allegations and excoriated critics by pointing out that no charges have been filed against him related to the claims. House members voted in secret to release the House Ethics report in the claims despite his objections.
On Wednesday, he threatened to “expose every ‘me too’ settlement paid using public funds (even of former members),” as one of his last actions as a member of Congress.
Among those who will likely support the nuclear option on the publicly funded hush money is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who proposed the disclosure in November.
“For my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate, If we are going to release ethics reports and rip apart our own that Trump has appointed, then put it ALL out there for the American people to see,” she wrote on social media.
“Yes… all the ethics reports and claims including the one I filed,” she added, “all your sexual harassment and assault claims that were secretly settled paying off victims with taxpayer money.”
On Wednesday, Gaetz admitted to womanizing and drinking too much when he was younger but continued to defend himself against the criminal allegations.
“It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank, and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” he wrote.
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