Former Florida House Representative Matt Gaetz‘s House Ethics report has been released, and all eyes are on Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Gaetz’s most outspoken allies, to follow through on her threat to expose all her colleagues’ sexual misconduct if the Gaetz report came out — seriously, Marj, we’re waiting.
In the House report, Gaetz, who President-elect Trump picked for attorney general before Gaetz dropped out, is accused of illegal drug use and paying for sex, including sex with a minor. According to The New York Times, the House Ethics report found evidence Gaetz violated Florida statutory rape laws and House ethics rules but could not find definitive evidence Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws. Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing, resigned his House seat last month.
Trump and his MAGA faithful like MTG and Gaetz swept into power on promises to “drain the swamp” amid QAnon mass hysteria over child sex abuse, which is a problem, no doubt, as the Diddy and Epstein scandals both illustrate. Surely, Gaetz isn’t the only U.S. politician, current or former, guilty of sexual misconduct, either.
Earlier in December, Greene engaged in some massive whataboutism when she wrote on X alongside news footage, “If Congress is going to release one ethics report, they should release them all. I want to see the Epstein list. I want to see the details of the slush fund for sexual misconduct by members of Congress or Senators. I want to see it all.
In doing so, MTG seems to suggest that since other politicians might be guilty of sexual misconduct, harassment, and wrongdoing, it could somehow exonerate Gaetz. Moreover, Epstein’s list was released in January. Though redacted, it names 150 associates of the late sex trafficking billionaire, and none so far have been charged with any crimes, and one of the names mentioned, Marj, is your bud, Trump.
In her post, Greene also refers to a “slush fund for sexual misconduct by members of Congress and Senators,” which she somewhat misrepresents. To be clear, the slush fund is real and a problem, but it’s a separate issue from Gaetz’s ethics report, and it’s a bit more complicated than Greene describes in that clip and post.
There is an $18.2 million fund for Congress to settle workplace disputes, but that includes more than just sexual harassment and misconduct accusations, including safety and pay disagreements. Moreover, that’s not just for Congress but also the Capitol Police, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Library of Congress.
Michigan Democratic Congressman John Conyers was rumored to have used the fund to secretly settle sexual harassment allegations before he resigned in 2017, but Conyers’ office paid the settlement instead. Still, Greene seems to suggest that Gaetz has been unfairly persecuted rather than standing by the values she claims to represent and encourage Gaetz to face justice for what he’s allegedly done.
Hey, MTG, we’re waiting …
The Gaetz revelations will likely see MTG and other Trump cronies bend themselves into pretzels to distance themselves from the Florida politician — counting down until Trump says, “Gaetz who? I barely knew him.” But Greene drew her line in the sand in December when she threatened to release that information, so let’s call her bluff, as one X comment noted: “No, you don’t, because then all your Republican buddies who are on the list will be caught out. We know for a fact Trump is on the Epstein list.” And anyway, sexual misconduct and harassment are real problems, even when it’s your friend who gets accused, and not just when your political opponents get caught.