Right-wing media figures are rushing to defend former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, following reports that the House Ethics Committee received sworn testimony that Gaetz reportedly paid over $10,000 to two women for sex and was witnessed “having sex with a 17-year-old at a party.” Right-wing personalities have claimed Gaetz is a victim of “government espionage” and the “secret police” while championing him as a means of “dismantling the deep state.”
Andrea Austria | Media Matters
Research/Study
Right-wing media rush to defend Matt Gaetz against reports of sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old
Gaetz, Trump’s pick for attorney general, resigned from the House just as a House Ethics Committee investigation into reported sexual misconduct was set to conclude
Written by Noah Dowe & Gideon Taaffe
Published
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Gaetz resigned from the House just before an ethics investigation into reports of sexual misconduct was set to conclude
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- After Trump named him for attorney general, Gaetz “abruptly resigned from his House seat late Wednesday,” halting a yearslong investigation and final report on “sexual misconduct and illicit drug use” that the House Ethics Committee was expected to vote to release on Friday. Though the Department of Justice declined to pursue charges against Gaetz following “allegations that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and possibly violated federal sex trafficking laws,” the Ethics Committee continued to investigate the charges as well as whether Gaetz “misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, accepted impermissible gifts under House rules, and shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, among other transgressions.” [The New York Times, 11/13/24]
- The investigation into Gaetz involved testimony from Joel Greenberg, a convicted fraudster and sex trafficker who provided authorities with “information about encounters he and the Florida Republican had with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex.” [CNN, 4/14/21, 12/1/22]
- Two women testified to the House Ethics Committee that “they were paid by Gaetz to have sex with him and other individuals who attended these ‘sex parties.’” The House Ethics Committee also “obtained records, including a check and records of Venmo payments, that appear to show” that Gaetz “paid more than $10,000 to two women who were later witnesses in sexual misconduct probes” against him. [The Washington Post, 11/18/24; ABC, 11/19/24]
- The New York Times reported that an “unidentified hacker” gained access on Monday to a “file of 24 exhibits … said to include sworn testimony by a woman who said that she had sex with Mr. Gaetz in 2017 when she was 17, as well as corroborating testimony by a second woman who said that she witnessed the encounter.” According to The Washington Post, Florida attorney Joel Leppard told the paper “that Gaetz was unaware of her age at the time but subsequently was told she was underage.” [The New York Times, 11/19/24; The Washington Post, 11/18/24]
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Right-wing media have downplayed the reports, alleging a conspiracy against Gaetz
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- Fox host Jesse Watters mentioned Gaetz’s “personal allegations” and complained that Democrats will “turn his hearing into the Salem witch trials.” Watters described Gaetz as “a sharp-tongued lawyer who … shines a spotlight on government corruption and weaponization,” adding, “Donald Trump cannot allow his own Justice Department to sabotage his presidency again.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 11/13/24]
- Conservative streamer Benny Johnson suggested Gaetz was “the victim of government espionage,” claiming the FBI “illegally tried to destroy Matt Gaetz’s family.” Though Gaetz’s father was targeted by an extortion scheme involving a Florida businessman who made “materially false promises” that he could secure a pardon for Gaetz in exchange for payment, Johnson baselessly alleged that “this was an operation run by the FBI.” [YouTube, 11/14/24; Politico, 11/22/21]
- Appearing on Fox News, Trump’s incoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that Gaetz and Trump “have both been victims of this weaponized DOJ.” [Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, 11/14/24]
- Trump ally and podcaster Steve Bannon threatened Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) for saying he wanted to see the ethics report: “You either get with the program, brother, or you're going to finish third in your primary.” As reported by Reuters, Cornyn replied, “Absolutely,” when asked by the press if he would like to see the report prior to Gaetz’s confirmation. [Reuters, 11/15/24; Real America’s Voice, War Room, 11/14/24]
- Right-wing YouTuber Tim Pool attacked the media for reporting on the investigation, claiming that “they will smear you and lie about you to try to destroy you if you oppose them.” Pool complained, “Even though there’s never any real accusations, no real evidence of any wrongdoing, the media is running the story as if Matt Gaetz did something wrong.” [YouTube, 11/15/24]
- Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said Gaetz just “did some partying” and alleged that “the media offered all these women … massive amounts of money to say that he was mean to them or he did something.” Jones continued, “Then they caught feds and Israeli operatives trying to blackmail him and all the rest of this stuff, and they got indicted.” [The Alex Jones Network, The Alex Jones Show, 11/17/24]
- Fox host Sean Hannity accused the Ethics Committee of trying to “Kavanaugh Matt Gaetz” by “leaking out” evidence. Hannity argued, “If everything they’ve accused Matt Gaetz of is true, … I’m pretty sure they would have indicted the guy.” [Premiere Radio Network, The Sean Hannity Show, 11/18/24]
- Fox host Greg Gutfeld said about the investigation of Gaetz: “We are individuals and all of us have stuff in our past.” [Fox News, The Five, 11/18/24]
- Former Fox host Tucker Carlson suggested the “secret police” used the media to “slander” Gaetz. Carlson asked, “You want to live in a world where the secret police can just slander you through the media?” adding, “Gaetz is the most articulate member of Congress. It's like, it’s not even close, right? So they hate him for that because he's a danger.” [YouTube, 11/18/24]
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Right-wing media have also praised Gaetz as a “wrecking ball” and “major thorn in the side of the deep state” who will “hit the Department of Justice with a blowtorch”
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- Bannon: Trump is “going to hit the Department of Justice with a blowtorch, and that blowtorch is a guy named Matt Gaetz.” Bannon also gushed over Gaetz as “the fiercest of the fierce warriors,” praising him for being able to “hog-tie a sitting speaker of the House for the first time ever.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 11/13/24]
- Hannity suggested Gaetz has “an unyielding, fearless ability to disrupt the status quo.” Hannity complained, “The state-run media mob, they’re now only worried about Matt Gaetz. This is feigned selective moral outrage and frankly it's ridiculous. Now for years the DOJ and the FBI and the Washington field office have been totally, completely out of control. … They have had a get-Trump-by-any-means mentality.” [Fox News, Hannity, 11/13/24]
- Newsmax host Greg Kelly praised Gaetz for being an “occasional fill-in host” for his show, adding that he is “unafraid” and he knows his stuff when he takes on the swamp.” [Newsmax, Greg Kelly Reports, 11/13/24]
- Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt Tonight called Gaetz “a major thorn in the side of the deep state” in a chyron. Host Rob Schmitt added that the reason Trump picked Gaetz was to “end the weaponization of government.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 11/13/24]
- Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk called Gaetz a “metaphorical congressional grenade into the Department of Justice.” Kirk added that after the “Russian collusion scam,” the Department of Justice “deserves to be completely blown up.” [Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 11/14/24]
- Kirk also warned that as attorney general, “Gaetz very well might go arrest” those who oppose mass deportations. Kirk continued, “If you are getting in the way of the execution of the federal laws, the American people want these foreigners removed from our homeland. And that's what they're going to get.” [Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 11/20/24]
- Daily Wire host Matt Walsh endorsed Gaetz because “if we’re serious about dismantling the deep state,” it will require “certain kinds of people.” He added, “We need the kinds of brazen, wild card-type characters who will go in there and do the job that needs to be done. You know, the wrecking balls, the bulls in the China shops.” [Daily Wire, The Matt Walsh Show, 11/14/24]
- Johnson said Gaetz should begin “locking up corrupt bureaucrats with the gang members.” Johnson said, “Rent a stadium, bring in all the career bureaucrats, sit them all down and the first thing Trump does — or maybe the first thing Matt Gaetz does … is say, you’re all under investigation.” [YouTube, The Benny Show, 11/15/24]