Matt Gaetz arrives with J.D. Vance on Capitol Hill with decision on releasing his 'underage sex' ethics report looming

Ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz is backmost successful Congress to person senators wherefore helium should beryllium confirmed arsenic lawyer wide contempt his 'sex party' scandals.

He was joined by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, a sitting senator, and Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, who besides serves successful the Senate.

The trio has meetings acceptable up with GOP senators to rally enactment for Gaetz's information to go lawyer general, though his galore controversies whitethorn hinder their cause. 

The House Ethics Committee is voting contiguous connected whether a scathing study into Gaetz for allegedly having enactment with a insignificant and doing amerciable drugs should beryllium released.

if it is made public, it would interruption with precedent acceptable by the sheet that nary longer has jurisdiction implicit Gaetz present that helium has resigned from Congress. 

Speaker Mike Johnson insisted Friday that helium does not privation the study released, but the committee said they would vote connected whether to marque it nationalist anyway.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are demanding to spot the perchance damaging Gaetz record earlier helium goes done the Senate confirmation process.

Many GOP senators person recoiled astatine the thought of the firebrand getting adjacent much powerfulness successful Washington, truthful Gaetz, Rubio and Vance person their enactment chopped retired for them.

But aft gathering with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Wednesday morning, the seasoned legislator released a connection calling connected his colleagues to not enactment successful the 'lynch mob' mentality that appears to person arisen pursuing Gaetz's nomination.

The connection was a wide connection that the gathering had gone well, and Graham urged chap Republicans to retrieve the tenant 'innocent until proven guilty.'

'I had a precise bully gathering with President Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, Matt Gaetz, and Vice President-elect JD Vance,' Graham said successful a statement. 

'I americium committed to allowing the process to spell guardant successful a mode accordant with past practices and cardinal fairness. This process volition not beryllium a rubber stamp nor volition it beryllium driven by a lynch mob.'

Graham adjacent went arsenic acold arsenic reminding his colleagues that the Department of Justice refused to prosecute Gaetz aft reviewing the allegations against him.

'I would impulse each of my Senate colleagues, peculiarly Republicans, not to articulation the lynch mob and springiness the process a accidental to determination forward. After years of being investigated by the Department of Justice, nary charges were brought against Matt Gaetz. This is thing we should each remember.'

The South Carolina senators bureau was conscionable 1 of the galore expected to beryllium visited by Gaetz and Vance Wednesday.

Still, that has not stopped neatly each Democrats and galore Republicans from asking to work the report. 

Fueling those desires is the caller grounds from a Orlando-based lawyer Joel Leppard who represents 2 women who assertion to person accusation connected Gaetz's allegedly lurid past.

Gaetz allegedly partied, utilized drugs and paid women for enactment repeatedly betwixt 2017 and 2019 portion serving successful the House of Representatives, Leppard claims.

The bombshell allegations person been cardinal to the  House Ethics Committee probe into the ex-lawmaker as the women person reportedly testified earlier the panel. 

The Republican attended up to 10 'sex parties' wherever amerciable drugs and 'group enactment situations' were present, according to Leppard.

Both women represented by Leppard allege that Gaetz paid them for enactment via Venmo, the lawyer claims. 

Gaetz paid upwards of $10,000 dollars to 2 women connected Venmo betwixt 2017 - 2019, ABC News reports. 

'She testified [that] successful July of 2017, astatine this location party, she was walking retired to the excavation area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Rep. Gaetz having enactment with her friend, who was 17,' Leppard said Monday.

One of the witnesses alleges that she saw her friends having enactment with Gaetz astatine a enactment successful July 2017 against a crippled array thought to beryllium an aerial hockey table.

The unnamed witnesser besides says that her person was 17 years aged astatine the time.