Matt Gaetz admits to womanizing and partying too much as he slams House’s move to release ethics report: Live

Matt Gaetz admits he “probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked” more than he should have in his 30s as the 42-year-old former congressman lambasted an imminent report from a long-running ethics investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with underage girls and drug use while he was in office.

House Ethics Committee members are now expected to publicly release the results in the coming days after holding a secret vote last month.

Alex Woodward reports.

The Supreme Court has agreed to take up the emergency appeal by TikTok to stop the app being banned in the U.S., with briefs due by December 27, replies due by January 3, 2025, and oral arguments set for January 10 — just nine days before the ban is supposed to go into effect.

You can read the filing here

Here’s what you need to know about the case:

Eric Garcia writes:

opular progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made her play. While her policy positions never changed, some noted that she seemed to push to the political middle during the campaign season. It was a move to seemingly curry favor with some of the party’s power brokers.

When she tried to play that chip on Tuesday for a powerful position on a House committee, it showed her progressive label still rankles in Washington. Even in her own party.

On Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez lost her bid to lead the Oversight Committee to Gerry Connolly after Democratic leadership stated its preference for the 74-year-old from Virginia. The vote wasn’t even close, with Connolly winning 131 votes to Ocasio-Cortez’s 84 votes. The panel has broad powers and will help keep oversight of President-Elect Donald Trump.

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Former congressman Matt Gaetz has released the following statement regarding the upcoming public release of the House ethics committee report on his alleged sexual misconduct and drug use.

He posted the following statement on X:

The Biden/Garland DOJ spent years reviewing allegations that I committed various crimes.

I was charged with nothing: FULLY EXONERATED. Not even a campaign finance violation. And the people investigating me hated me.

Then, the very “witnesses” DOJ deemed not-credible were assembled by House Ethics to repeat their claims absent any cross-examination or challenge from me or my attorneys. I’ve had no chance to ever confront any accusers. I’ve never been charged. I’ve never been sued.

Instead, House Ethics will reportedly post a report online that I have no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.

In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated — even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court — which is why no such claim was ever made in court.

My 30’s were an era of working very hard - and playing hard too.

It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.

But at least I didn’t vote for CR’s that fuck over the country!

Incoming US president Donald Trump threatened to impose reciprocal tariffs on India as he reiterated his longstanding complaints of New Delhi charging high tariffs.

Mr Trump made the comment at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, standing alongside his commerce secretary pick Howard Lutnick.

The former president, who has threatened tariffs on several countries as part of his “America First” approach, ended preferential trade status for India during his first term in 2019.

Shweta Sharma reports.

House lawmakers are expected to publicly release the results of an ethics investigation into now-former congressman Matt Gaetz after a secret vote last month to share the report in the final days of 2024.

House Ethics Committee members reportedly held a secret vote earlier this month, reversing course on a decision to withhold the findings of a long-running probe into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use.

The report is expected to be made public after the House’s final day of votes this week as lawmakers prepare to leave Washington, D.C., for the holidays, according to CNN.

Alex Woodward reports.

Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong is now prohibiting “editorials containing criticism” of Donald Trump “unless they are presented side-by-side with another opinion piece representing the ‘opposing view,’” according to a memo written by the newspaper’s editors.

As Oliver Darcy first reported in his Status newsletter, the staff memo reveals that Soon-Shiong’s “meddling” of the LA Times’ coverage – especially regarding the president-elect – has “grown more pervasive than previously realized.”

The memo, signed by several members of the LA Times’ opinion section, was sent to the newspaper’s executive editor, Terry Tang. It comes after Soon-Shiong killed an op-ed last month critical of Trump’s recent Cabinet picks and the incoming president’s suggestion that he may use recess appointments to circumvent the confirmation process.

Justin Barangoa reports.

President Joe Biden has said he is in favor of a ban on stock trading by members of Congress.

Speaking with Faiz Shakir, an adviser for Senator Bernie Sanders, in an interview on the progressive nonprofit news site More Perfect Union, the president said he did not know how lawmakers could trade stocks in good conscience.

“I don’t know how you look your constituents in the eye and know because the job they gave you, it gave you the inside track to make more money,” Biden said.