3 days Ago By Chris Katje
Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) resigned from office after he was announced as President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general. While Gaetz has not been formally nominated for the White House role, his resignation could keep an investigation into his actions from being publicly released.
What Happened : Prior to resigning from Congress , Gaetz was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of sexual misconduct, drug use and more. With Gaetz no longer a member of Congress, the Ethics Committee has no jurisdiction over him, but their decision of whether to release their findings publicly remains one of the biggest topics for Congress this week. The Ethics Committee, which is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, is expected to meet Wednesday to determine their next step in whether to release the report or not, the Wall Street Journal reported .
The report would likely include the committee's findings into allegations that Gaetz had sexual relations with a 17-year-old minor. The former minor and another woman both said Gaetz paid them for sex, according to comments from their lawyer on Monday. Gaetz denied allegations of having sex with a minor, sex trafficking or paying for sex previously.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) said this week it would be a bad precedent if the committee releases the report with Gaetz no longer a member of Congress. See Also: Donald Trump’s Personnel Picks: New Poll Finds Elon Musk With Highest Approval By Voters, Matt Gaetz With Highest Disapproval Some members of Congress, including members of the Republican party, want to see the results of the committee ahead of a potential vote for Gaetz to be a member of Trump's cabinet.
"I'm saying to the people that want any cabinet person to get through — not just Gaetz — but it's going to be a lot faster if you give us all the information that we want," Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said. The Ethics Committee previously planned to release their findings last week before Gaetz surprising resignation.
Did You Know? Congress Is Making Huge Investments. Get Tips On What They Bought And Sold Ahead Of The 2024 Election With Our Easy-to-Use Tool Why It's Important: While The Republicans will have a majority of 53-47 when the new Congress term begins in January, four Republicans voting against any pick could see them fail to be approved through, assuming all Democrats vote against the candidate. On Tuesday it was reported that an "unknown and unauthorized third party" gained access to depositions from witnesses in the Gaetz investigation, as reported by CBS News.
The reported leak, which could include testimony from the minor who allegedly had sex with Gaetz, could put into question whether more details from the case will be released publicly, even if Congress doesn't do so. On Polymarket , the odds of Gaetz being approved as attorney general currently stand at 38%, up from 28% four days ago. The odds had previously hovered between 25% and 30%, before growing in recent days.
Gaetz has the best odds of any name listed in the Polymarket attorney general prediction market. On Polymarket, users can deposit funds using USDC USDC/USD via the Polygon MATIC/USD network, or directly from a crypto account with Ethereum ETH/USD . Each betting market sees the winning option pay out at $1.
Like the 2024 election markets, the odds of potential cabinet members are becoming hot betting markets on Polymarket. Read Next: Trump Wants Matt Gaetz Confirmed ‘100%,’ So Does The Cannabis Industry Photo: Shutterstock © 2024 Benzinga.com.
Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved..
