A Republican senator furious at Matt Gaetz’s efforts to oust Kevin McCarthy as the speaker of the House claimed on Wednesday that Gaetz was widely disliked in his party, and shunned after he bragged about his sexual escapades.
Markwayne Mullin, who represents Oklahoma, said that Gaetz used to share video footage of the women he slept with.
In the final months of the Trump administration, the Justice Department began an investigation into allegations that Gaetz had trafficked a 17-year-old for sex. The investigation’s existence was confirmed in March 2021.
Mullin, a supporter of McCarthy, said that when the allegations about Gaetz emerged in early 2021, ‘the media didn’t give [him] the time of day’ because he was not seen as an important figure.
Mullin also noted that none of his colleagues defended him at the time.
‘And there’s a reason why no one in the Congress came and defended him: because we had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor – that all of us had walked away – of the girls that he had slept with,’ Mullin told CNN.
Markwayne Mullin, a senator for Oklahoma, on Wednesday told CNN that Matt Gaetz had shown off video of the women he had slept with, and bragged about his exploits
Gaetz, 41, denied Mullin’s claim, saying it was ‘a lie’ told by someone who barely knew him
‘He would brag about how he would crush E.D. medicine and chase it with energy drinks so he could go all night.
‘This was obviously before he got married.’
Gaetz, 41, married his girlfriend Ginger Luckey in August 2021, having met at a party at Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Mullin also echoed the oft-aired criticism of Gaetz as an attention seeker.
‘All of a sudden he found fame because he opposed the Speaker of the House back in November,’ he said.
‘And he’s always stayed there. And he was never going to leave until he got this last moment of fame…by going after a motion to vacate.’
Gaetz, in a statement to CNN that anchor Anderson Cooper later read on air, denied Mullin’s claim of inappropriate behavior.
‘I don’t think Markwayne Mullin and I have said 20 words to each other on the House floor,’ said Gaetz.
‘This is a lie from someone who doesn’t know me and who is coping with the death of the political career of his friend Kevin. Thoughts and prayers.’
Gaetz is pictured with his wife Ginger on January 1, 2022. They were married in August 2021, shortly after the Justice Department investigation into allegations of sex trafficking were made public
The investigation by the Justice Department into allegations of sex trafficking and sex with a minor was dropped in February, when prosecutors concluded they did not have enough evidence to bring charges.
But Gaetz is still facing a House Committee inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct, use of illegal drugs, and misuse of funds.
Gaetz has argued that the two-year, wide-ranging inquiry into his conduct is the work of McCarthy and his allies, who he argues are bent on smearing him.
McCarthy on Monday insisted once again he could not block the investigation into Gaetz: on Tuesday, after he was ousted, McCarthy said it was because Gaetz had a personal dislike of him.
Gaetz on Tuesday said that was ‘an urban legend’, and angrily denied moving against McCarthy as revenge for McCarthy failing to block the ethics investigation.
Matt Gaetz on Tuesday denied moving against Kevin McCarthy as revenge for McCarthy failing to block an ethics probe into him
Florida congressman Matt Gaetz led the rebellion against Kevin McCarthy
Asked by Fox News host Laura Ingraham whether he took on McCarthy for revenge, Gaetz replied: ‘That’s totally false.’
He added: ‘I’m the most investigated man in the entire United States Congress.
‘I have been cleared by the FBI, DoJ, the federal election commission. And so I -‘
When Ingraham pressed him on his dislike of McCarthy, Gaetz replied: ‘That is an urban legend.’
He then switched to discussing McCarthy’s claim that Gaetz and his allies were not true conservatives, and angrily defended his relentless fundraising amid the chaos.
‘People are seeing your fundraisers instantly going out about this. You are raising money. It is chaos right now,’ said Ingraham.
Gaetz testily replied: ‘Yeah, if can I get a word in here. I’m the only Republican in the entire United States congress who takes no lobbyist money and no PAC money.
‘So absolutely, I communicate daily, vigorously with regular Americans.
‘Because the only way I’m able to advance my political goals is just regular folks give me 10, 20, $30.
‘And so I will take no lecture from the likes of people who do three lobbyist fundraisers as day and trade favors in order to get cash from special interest on how I raise money.
‘And I take deep offense to anyone who wants who criticize the mailman, the active duty service member, the grandmother who believes in me and goes to Matt gaetz.com and donate.
‘As a matter of fact is I hope they do that right now and I’m not sorry for it at all because I won’t take the lobbyist and PAC money like every other person does.’
He also, in a closing jibe at McCarthy, boasted of his close relationship with his fellow Floridian, Donald Trump, and said McCarthy would not be welcome at a Trump rally.
Former President Donald Trump and Rep. Matt Gaetz are close – the two are seen above at a November 2019 campaign rally in Florida
‘I would say that my conversations with the former president leave me with great confidence that I’m doing the right thing,’ Rep. Matt Gaetz said of his conversations with Donald Trump
Trump remains the de facto leader of the Republicans, and is the out-and-out front runner for the 2024 nomination.
‘I support President Trump, eager to campaign with him,’ said Gaetz.
‘Probably our private conversations I am going to keep to us, but I am in good stead with the former president.
‘You know who won’t see on the campaign trail at a big rally: Kevin McCarthy.
‘Because if Kevin McCarthy took the stage at a Trump rally, he would be booed off it like Lindsey Graham.’
McCarthy has confirmed he will not make another bid for Speaker of the House after he was ousted from the job in a historic vote on Tuesday sparked by a tumultuous civil war in the Republican Party.
He made the announcement on Tuesday evening, a few hours after eight GOP lawmakers joined Democrats to boot him from his leadership spot.
‘I will not run for speaker again,’ McCarthy said in a nearly hour-long press conference that veered from combative to laugh filled.
‘I may have lost the vote today. But as I walk out of this chamber, I feel fortunate to have served the American people,’ he said.
‘I leave the speakership with a sense of pride and accomplishment. And yes optimism.’
In his remarks, he slammed Democrats, particularly their longtime leader Nancy Pelosi, and his nemesis, Gaetz, who led the move to remove him from the speaker’s office.
McCarthy’s bombshell decision will open the floodgates for Republican candidates and could lead to weeks of turmoil among the party as Congress faces a November 17 deadline to prevent another government shutdown.
House Republicans met behind closed doors on Tuesday night to discuss the fallout from the historic vote that resulted in McCarthy, R-Calif., becoming the first Speaker in the 234-year history of the United States Congress to have his gavel taken away by fellow lawmakers.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
Content source – www.soundhealthandlastingwealth.com