Matt Gaetz withdraws from attorney general bid



Former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida withdrew from his nomination for attorney general less than two weeks after President-elect Trump nominated the Florida firebrand for the position.

Trump's nomination of Gaetz sparked controversy surrounding an unreleased ethics report, solidifying the fact that his confirmation would be an uphill battle. Gaetz has spent the last few days lobbying alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance in an attempt to persuade senators to confirm him.

'There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General.'

"I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday," Gaetz said in a Thursday post on X. "I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many."

"While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the crucial work of the Trump/Vance Transition," Gaetz continued. "There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General."

Republicans hold a slim majority of 53 seats in the Senate. As a result, Gaetz and other nominees would be able to lose only three GOP votes, assuming that Vance would also be voting.

"Trump's DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1," Gaetz continued. "I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I'm certain he will Save America."

Gaetz resigned from his position in the House following the nomination, leaving a vacancy for Florida's 1st Congressional District seat for the remaining and the upcoming term.

"I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General," Trump said in a statement Thursday. "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!"

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Ethics Committee admonishes Sen. Lindsey Graham



The Senate Select Committee on Ethics has admonished Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for soliciting campaign donations for then-Senate candidate Herschel Walker last year while doing an interview from a federal building.

Graham was admonished in a public letter signed by committee chair Chris Coons of Delaware (D) and vice chair James Lankford of Oklahoma (R).

"Based upon all available information, the Committee concluded that on November 30, 2022, you conducted a media interview with Fox News in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building and that your interview was slightly over nine minutes, with over four minutes devoted to a discussion of the 2022 senatorial run-off election in Georgia. The Committee further concluded that during your discussion of the senatorial run-off election, you directly solicited campaign contributions on behalf of Mr. Walker's campaign committee, www.teamherschel.com, five separate times," the letter declares.

Walker ultimately lost Georgia's December runoff election to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

But the letter states that Graham had previously committed the same sort of infraction in 2020, when, during an unplanned interview in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, he solicited donations for his campaign committee.

"On October 14, 2020, immediately following a Judiciary Committee hearing, you engaged in an unplanned media interview in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. In response to a reporter's question regarding your reelection campaign fundraising, you directly solicited campaign contributions for your campaign committee. While the Committee concluded your conduct violated Senate standards of conduct, it considered several mitigating factors, and in accordance with the Committee's Rules of Procedure, determined your conduct was 'inadvertent, technical, or otherwise of a de minimis nature.' On March 8, 2021, the Committee dismissed the complaint and notified you of the Committee's findings and action by private letter," the lawmakers noted.

The letter states that "the Committee finds that you did solicit federal campaign contributions and otherwise impermissibly conducted campaign activity in a federal building. Further, you made these campaign solicitations despite the Committee's specific guidance following your violation in October 2020. The Committee does acknowledge that you did self-report your conduct to the Chairman and Vice Chairman.

"The public must feel confident that Members use public resources only for official actions in the best interests of the United States, not for partisan political activity. Your actions failed to uphold that standard, resulting in harm to the public trust and confidence in the United States Senate. You are hereby admonished," the letter concludes.

Graham has served in the U.S. Senate for a just over 20 years.

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AOC likely violated federal law by receiving 'impermissible gifts' for Met Gala appearance, House ethics office says



A nonpartisan congressional agency found "substantial reason to believe" New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez broke federal law by receiving "impermissible gifts" associated with her appearance at the Met Gala in 2021.

The House Office of Congressional Ethics declared on Thursday that AOC "may have accepted impermissible gifts associated with her attendance at the Met Gala in 2021."

"Rep. Ocasio-Cortez received a series of goods and services which she did not pay for until the OCE opened this review," the House Office of Congressional Ethics proclaimed in its report.

The report found that Ocasio-Cortez was provided a dress, handbag, shoes, jewelry, hairstyling, makeup, transportation, and ready-room services at no charge as part of her attending the Met Gala.

AOC made headlines for attending the fashion event for elites while wearing a Brother Vellies white dress with "Tax the Rich" written in red on the back.

The report also found that AOC's longtime partner, Riley Roberts, received a bowtie and shoes for the event attended by Hollywood glitterati.

The ethics report noted that Ocasio-Cortez paid for the goods and services — but only after the House Office of Congressional Ethics contacted her after opening a probe into her Met Gala gifts. The ethics watchdog suggested that AOC may not have paid for the gifts worth thousands of dollars unless the probe was launched.

The ethics probe into the Democratic socialist's gifts associated with the $35,000-a-plate Met Gala, where she was hobnobbing with in-vogue celebrities, was initiated in December 2022.

"If Rep. Ocasio-Cortez accepted impermissible gifts, then she may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law," the report stated.

The Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics advised the Committee on Ethics to investigate the allegations further to determine if any wrongdoing was committed.

"The Board recommends that the Committee further review the above allegation concerning Rep. Ocasio-Cortez because there is substantial reason to believe that she accepted impermissible gifts associated with her attendance at the Met Gala in 2021," the report advised.

AOC allegedly blamed a campaign staffer for not paying for the dress and other items.

"And I just never, ever, ever would have allowed that to happen, knowing what I have learned, but that I wasn't privy to the invoices, wasn't privy to the ones that had been sent," AOC told investigators, according to Insider. "And it is just a deeply regrettable situation. I feel l terrible for especially the small businesses that were impacted."

Ocasio-Cortez’s office confessed that it was late to make payments for the gifts, but doesn't believe the Democratic congresswoman violated House rules.

"The congresswoman finds these delays unacceptable, and she has taken several steps to ensure nothing of this nature will happen again," AOC's Communications Director, Lauren Hitt, said in a statement.

"Even after OCE’s exhaustive review of the congresswoman’s personal communications, there is no record of the congresswoman refusing to pay for these expenses," Hitt continued. "To the contrary, there are several explicit, documented communications, from prior to OCE’s review, that show the congresswoman understood that she had to pay for these expenses from her own personal funds—as she ultimately did. We are confident the Ethics Committee will dismiss this matter."

The Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics recommended the Committee on Ethics issue subpoenas to three witnesses who did not cooperate in the investigation — Aurora James, Brother Vellies, and Janna Pea.

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‘Beyond The Pale’: Nancy Pelosi Wants Ethics Committee To Look Into Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ‘Verbal Assault’ On Ocasio-Cortez

'Cause for trauma and fear among members, especially on the heels of an insurrection'

House Ethics Committee Opens Investigation Into Matt Gaetz

Gaetz is under FBI investigation for allegedly trafficking a minor across state lines.