Two of President-elect Donald Trump’s choices for Cabinet positions are receiving intense scrutiny.
For attorney general: It remains unclear whether the House Ethics Committee will release an investigative report on alleged sexual misconduct by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, whom Trump picked for attorney general, now that Gaetz has stepped down from his seat in Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday that he will request the committee not release the report. Later Friday, an attorney representing two women who were witnesses in the committee probe said one of his clients told the panel she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor. The lawyer called for the report’s release, saying, “Democracy demands transparency.”
Asked about the testimony, first reported by ABC News, a spokesperson for Gaetz told CNN that “Merrick Garland’s DOJ cleared Matt Gaetz and didn’t charge him.”
The Senate is expected to consider Trump’s picks, including Gaetz, as part of the Cabinet confirmation process, and some GOP senators are withholding support for the Florida lawmaker until they see more.
For defense secretary: Separately, the Trump transition team was caught off guard by a previous allegation of sexual assault against defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth, who had received little internal vetting, according to sources.
Several members of Trump’s team have since raised questions about the viability of his nomination, according to two people close to the situation.
Within 48 hours of Trump announcing Hegseth, the heads of the president-elect’s transition team were brought a complaint about the sexual assault allegation. The complaint aligns with an investigation by Monterey, California, police involving Hegseth on October 8, 2017.
Hegseth has not been charged in any criminal case or named as a defendant in any civil lawsuit filed in Monterey County since 2017, and his attorney has denied any wrongdoing. But the nature of the allegations caused incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles to question Hegseth during a call Thursday, a source told CNN.