matt gaetz defied a subpoena to testify to the house ethics committee. innocent members of the house and senate are very eager to testify when they are subjected to ethics committee investigations. they do not defy subpoenas to testify. the ethics committee obtained under oath testimony against matt gaetz, and matt gaetz has refused to answer any specific questions about any of that under oath testimony about him. matt gaetz was the first big loss after the election of donald trump -- after the election for donald trump and elon musk. he was their first big loss. but the five republican members of the house ethics committee and the five democratic members of the house ethics committee conducted a thorough investigation that saved this country from having to endure matt gaetz as attorney general of the united states. republican members of the united states senate some of them, a few of them made it clear that they wanted to see the house ethics committee report before voting on matt gaetz confirmation, matt gaetz confirmation did not have a chance. and so

the house ethics committee today released a report unlike any in the history of the house ethics committee. the ethics committee unanimously believes that former florida republican congressman matt gates sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in florida. the committee found substantial evidence. substantial evidence of that assault. that victim is named in the report as victim a. as reported previously on this program by a attorney for a teenager who was paid to have sex with matt gates, that teenager witnessed matt gates having sex with the 17-year-old. minutes after matt gates entered a party and immediately upon meeting the 17-year-old. the committee report says the committee received testimony that victim a and representative gates had sex twice during the party including at least once in the presence of other party attendees. victim a recalled receiving $400 in cash from presented gates that evening which she understood to be payment for sex. at the time she had just completed her junior year of high school. victim a acknowledged she was under the influence of ecstasy during her sexual

and so, why then does the house ethics committee release the report? first, they have a different standard than the court system. their's is a congressional standard. they can do whatever they want. it's well known naught resigned so he was outside of the us jurisdiction of the congress. the committee told us, one, there's an overwhelming public interest. that's true. allegation of drug use and statutory rape by a sitting member of the congress, there's a public interest, particularly i suppose when they're still relevant politically. i think ultimately it's because, because matt gaetz obstructed and manipulated the investigation. as you mentioned the four-year investigation, he did not cooperate with it. he actually manipulated the house ethics committee, the norms of the congress and ultimately at the end when he couldn't play it out through december or through this coming january 3rd he resigned to try to remove jurisdiction. i think the house ethics committee said to the world today, look, we have to defend the institution of the house. we cannot b

you said house ethics committee. >> the house ethics committee is voting to release this report, presumablyh some republican help. this is a house republican report on january 6th recommending that liz cheney be criminally investigated if she isn't this isn't this banana republic stuff. >> why is she being exempted from the law? everybody who broke the law should be exempted. no, it's not banana republic. if she broke the law, i don't see why that's such a hard thing. if she didn't break the law, there's no evidence she broke the law. fine. >> there's no evidence she broke the law. she. they just looked into what happened on january 6th and donald trump's attempt to overturn a free and fair election. >> other than barry loudermilk, who's a very respected member of congress doing his very long investigation and very tiring investigation into this, and if they found it, i think it ought to be brought to light. if not, then she's fine. i don't have a problem with them investigating that. >> you want the government to go after trump's political enemies. >> if they broke the law. i don't care if

alex, i know you know there was a house ethics committee, one of those closed-door house ethics committee meetings today to consider the possibility of releasing the report on matt gaetz. glenn i.v. is a member of the house ethics committee, he is going to join our discussion in this hour. >> that's a big deal! that committee does not talk to the press very often. that is a big deal. >> well, there could be some limits on what he might be able to say. we might explore those. >> i know you are going to get it out of him, lawrence point we will see. we will try. >> had a great show. >> thank you, alex. thank you. >>> well, no one in public life now self humiliates more than elon musk. yes, donald trump self humiliates all the time with most of what comes out of his mouth. and, of course, every dance move. but, as a politician, donald trump is required in that pursuit to speak publicly, and to do so frequently. corporate titans don't have to do that. they are under no obligation to speak. we have no idea what tim cook, the seat ceo of apple thinks about most things. we have no idea what the

house. in 1987 the committee on ethics of the house of representatives written released a report on outpatient on misuseof campaign funds. in the 1990s, the committee on ethics of the house of representatives announced a report on investigations of sexual misconduct allegations which included having sexual intercourse with a minor in making sexual offenses towards a congressional employee against former representative don luke following his resignation from congress. in 2006 the committee on ethics of the house of representatives released a report on its investigation of sexual misconduct allegations which included sending sexually explicit messages to at least one minor against former representative mark foley following his resignation from congress. in 2011, the committee on ethics of the house of representatives continued its investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against former representative eric massa, following his recognition from congress. given the serious nature of the allegations against representative matt gaetz, the committee on ethics of the house of representatives

but the house ethics committee, in releasing that report today, they also made public a fair amount of detail evidence, including a ledger and extensive ledger, 11 pages showing payments, things for hundreds of dollars going to women from cashapp, venmo, paypal from matt gaetz, also from an email account that he had. they say under a pseudonym from another person's paypal account. all of these ledgers are for hundreds of dollars, saying they are reimbursement or gift or food. now, the committee says that is what is showing. matt gaetz giving payments to women. so they're putting everything together here in this very searing, damaging house ethics committee report that matt gaetz has been trying to stop from having made public. but now it is out there and he's denying these allegations against him. >> caitlin, how is gaetz pushing back now? >> well, wolf, he went to court this morning to try to stop the release of the report was totally unsuccessful. that fell flat very quickly. but he's also taken to social media to put his message out there. one of the things he says is giving funds t

the house ethics committee concluding gaetz violated multiple state laws, accusing him of illegal drugngaging in a pattern of paying women for sex, including a 17-year-old girl. tonight, what the bipartisan committee found, and how gaetz is responding. here's abc's selina wang. >> reporter: tonight, a scathing report by the bipartisan house ethics committee finding substantial evidence that former republican congressman matt gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl, in violation of florida's statutory rape law. gaetz, who president-elect trump had tapped to be his attorney general, allegedly had sex with the teen in 2017 when he was a freshman congressman. she had just finished her junior year of high school. the woman, known as victim a, testifying to the committee that gaetz had sex with her twice at a party, after which she, quote, recalled receiving $400 in cash from representative gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex. victim a said she never told gaetz she was under 18 at the time, and he did not ask. the ethics committee said the relationship still violated

it sounds like, from the house ethics committee looming in the next couple of days or so it sounds like. >> yeah, coming from this exclusive cnn reporting that they were it looks like republicans were on board now voting to release this report, voting in in secret. and it is notable you saw in that very lengthy statement, matt gaetz saying that, look, this was embarrassing behavior, but it's not criminal. it's certainly, though, putting some members of congress in a in an awkward position. you know, you just had tim burchett on. he said, look, if they're going to release that report, they should release every report that they have on members of congress. i'm about to interview the chairman of the oversight committee, james comer, to get his view. as you know, jim, matt gaetz didn't have a lot of friends in the gop on the house side. so it will be interesting to see what the reaction is going to be. yeah. >> burchett says that this is all part of the he was insinuating. it was part of the kevin mccarthy revenge tour after they overthrew him as speaker of the house, he and his allies esse

terms of damage to donald trump, donald trump news knew well about these allegations, and the house ethics committeemp and the house ethics committee had been ongoing when mr trump made this decision and out of all the picks that donald trump made among republicans, many of them, among his own party were aghast at this decision and it became clear it was going to be untenable. some of the political damage is already been done and is now baked in and i think you have to remember that mr trump is not a conventional politician and it will not damage him to the extent that it might a more conventional politician. that said, mr trump is having some trouble at the moment, particularly among his republican colleagues. there has been a vote which nearly closed down, shut down the american government over the holiday period, largely instigated by mr trump as he pulled support for the budgetary arrangements that were going through. he saw a significant number of his own republican colleagues defy him in the course of all that over the last few days it's becoming clear that the degree to which he might want to

is that under as a member of the house, we all pledge to hold ourselves to a higher ethics standard that includes not breaking state laws. so the house ethics committee has found all these things that i just said to be true. um, but put yourself in that position. you're at a party. there's a young girl who is less than half of your age, who is doing drugs, and you're having sex with her and your excuses. you didn't know she was 17. come on. >> some of your republican colleagues have said, you know, if this report is being released, then others should be released as well. the public has a right to know about all of the other investigations the committee has done as well. what do you make about that? argument i it's frankly offensive. >> the there is a long history of the house ethics committee continuing and releasing reports in these circumstances, and i think people are playing a rhetorical game that's a little disingenuous. it is true in a way that's irrelevant. but it is true that the majority of members who have left congress, who are under ethics investigation, did not have that report released. now, a lot of those investigations were minor issu

the house ethics committee will releasehe report on former florida congressman matt gaetz by the end of the year. mr. gaetz who at one point was president-ectrump's pick to be the next attorney general has denied participating ian illegal activities when he was younger and noted the justice department investigated and chose not to charg him. his post reads i part, iny single days, i often sent funds to women i dated, even some i never dated but who asked. i never had sexual contact with someone under 18. i probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than i should have earlier in life. i live a different life now. and a reminder that when the house ethics committee releases their report on the gaetz investigation, we'll have it posted for you at c-span.org. >> c-span's "washington journal," our live forum involving you to discuss the latest issue in public policy and you from washington, d.c. to across the country. coming up thursday morning, c.q. roll call and budget reporter aidan quigley discuss negotiations to avoid a government shutdown friday. then a conversation on feder

according to a final draft of the report by the house ethics committee, the politician — who was donaldr attorney general — is said to have been involved in prostitution, statutory rape and illicit drug use. the age of consent in florida — where the majority of the incidents are alleged to have taken place, is 18. mr gaetz denies any improper conduct — and had mounted a legal challenge to try to block the report's publication. let's speak to our north america correspondent, tom bateman, who is in washington for us now. quite serious allegations in this. , , ., , quite serious allegations in this. , , ., this. extremely serious and this. extremely serious and this amounts _ this. extremely serious and this amounts to _ this. extremely serious and this amounts to a _ this. extremely serious and this amounts to a really - this amounts to a really searing set of findings by the house ethics committee, concluding that there is substantial evidence that mr gaetz paid women for sex including a 17—year—old girl and repeatedly used and purchased illegal drugs including using his office and capit

matt gaetz strongly denies breaking any laws, but a years-long report from the house ethics committee accuses him of committing several illegal acts while he was representing florida in congress. nbc's ryan nobles kicks off our coverage. >> reporter: a bombshell report on capitol hill. the house ethics committee revealing the results of their investigation into former congressman matt gaetz. determining there is substantial evidence that gaetz violated house rules related to prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges and obstruction of congress. democrat glen ivy, a member of the committee, voted to release the report. specifically, they pointed to an encounter gaetz had with a woman who testified she had just finished her junior year in high school and was only 17 when she and gaetz had sex twice at a party. gaetz has repeatedly denied having sex with anyone underage, and the woman says she did not tell gaetz she was 17. the committee also detailed $90,000 in payments to 12 different women that investigators concluded was used to

tom: this amounts to a searing set of findings against matt gaetz by the house ethics committee.g there was, in their words, substantial evidence that mr. gaetz paid numerous women for sex, including a 17-year-old girl. also, he repeatedly used and purchased illegal drugs, including using his office in capitol hill to buy marijuana online, among other findings. but as you say, highly damaging for the former congressman. and given the fact that he had only last month was picked by donald trump to be the attorney general, to be the most senior law officer in the u.s. he withdrew from that nomination amid the groundswell of controversy over this. he's quite an incendiary figure in capitol hill, divisive even among his own republican colleagues. mr. gaetz himself has categorically denied any wrongdoing both in the run-up to this and after today's run-up of the report. the has been very active on over the last few hours, saying that giving funds to women that he was dating, that they didn't ask for is not in his words prostitution. and also accusing the ethics committee and others of

the house ethics committee report had been ongoing when mr. trump made this decision.e picks mr. trump made, among republicans, many of them, his own party were aghast at this decision. it became clear it was going to be untenable so some of the political damage has been done and is baked in. you have to remember mr. trump is not a conventional politician and it will not damage him to the extent it might a more conventional politician. that said mr. trump is having some trouble particularly among his republican colleagues. there has been a vote which nearly closed down, shut down the american government over the holidays. largely instigated by mr. trump as he pulled support for the budget tree advancements going through. -- the budgetary arrangements going through. he saw a certificate number of his republican colleagues defy him over the last few days and it is becoming clear the degree to which he might want to ram things through the republican party not proving as easy as he might have hoped. this adds to a sense that there will be questions over his judgment and de

>>>>the house ethics committee, which is split evenly between republicans and democrats, had been at an impasse over whether to release the report but voted to do so earlier this month. >>>>well, two republican committee members voted for the report's release. that's according to two sources familiar with the vote. other top stories we're following. president biden is commuting the sentences of 37 death row inmates. instead, they will get life in prison. just three inmates convicted of deadly crimes are still facing execution. those include zoha tsarnaev, convicted in the boston marathon bombing. dylann roof, who killed nine black members of the emanuel ame church in charleston, south carolina. and robert bowers, who killed 11 people in the deadliest antisemitic attack in u.s. history. the man charged with the murder of a united health care ceo pleaded not guilty today on state charges in new york. luigi mangione is accused of murdering brian thompson outside a hotel in manhattan. mangione already faces federal charges, including a firearms offense and stalking. the 26 year old could

but what this house ethic committee report does more than any other report that we've had into gaetz's conduct, is put direct testimony connected to the accusations to paint a full picture of what is the house ethics committee believes was an abate ant abuse of house ethical and criminal conduct at the state and federal level. and just the kindch behavior that they would argue is not something that is becoming of a member of congress. and they specific accuse gaetz of statutory rape. saying that a witness who is the victim of this particular incident testified to their committee that at a party, in 2017, that she and gaetz did engage in sexual activity. she had just finished her junior year of high school at time. and it was at a party that was filled with drugs and other little listity substances and there were other witnesses that witnessed and saw one of those encounters take place. the committee also goes to great pains to accuse gaetz of paying for sex over a significant period of time. from 2017 to 2020. they talk about how in detail some $90,000 in payments that gaetz made to 12

let's get right to the house ethics committee report on matt gaetz. we're learning more and more about the sex and drug allegations against the former republican congressman, who was forced to bow out as president elect. trump's choice for u.s. attorney general. cnn's katelyn polantz has been studying the report and the supporting evidence that was released just a little while ago. caitlin, give us the latest details. well, wolf, the house has released this report. >> they've also released evidence that they gathered for it, and they spoke to half a dozen witnesses who they say were able to put together the story. and they also looked at text messages. they traced payments, the story of matt gaetz for more than 20 times, paying tens of thousands of dollars toward women, either for sex or for drugs. and they're saying in those findings that it shows matt gaetz was engaged in commercial sex. so paying women in exchange for sex, at one point paying a 17 year old for sex, having sex with her at a party in 2017. in july of that year twice, and giving her $

news on the way. >>> the house ethics committee releasing

last month, the house ethics committee voted not to release the report. en last week, members quietly voted to make it public. committee chairman representative michael guest said releasing the report after gaetz's resignation has potentially catastrophic consequences. congressman mark desaulnier says he voted in favor of releasing the report, saying transparency and accountability are crucial for good governance. gaetz filed a federal lawsuit today to try and stop the report's release, saying it would cause damage to his reputation, calling the information defamatory, adding because he's a private citizen, he's no longer subject to the committee's jurisdiction. the committee released the report hours later. christiane cordero, abc news, washington. >> happening now hawaii's kilauea volcano is erupting again. this is video of when it first began, around 220 in the morning local time. officials say the volcanic activity is currently confined to the summit caldera, but they could see lava fountains as high as 262ft tall, with molten material and lava bombs b

news out of capitol hill where just in the last couple of minutes nbc news has learned the house ethics committee plans to release its report into now former congressman matt gaetz. joining us now nbc's ryan nobles and ali vitali on capitol hill and the former press secretary to former house speaker behar and ryan. let's start, ryan, with what we know about this committee plan to release this report. >> yeah, jose, this is quite a bit of an about-face by the house ethics committee that has wrestled with this question whether or not it was appropriate for them to release this report into former congressman matt gaetz, even though he was no longer a member of the body in which they have jurisdiction. and, of course, it comes after the committee, which had been working on this report for several years, was getting prepared to release this report at the end of the year, but then were thrown a curveball when gaetz was named as donald trump's pick to become the next attorney general. gaetz then subsequently resigned from congress leaving the ethics committee in a bit of limbo. while there is some prece

long investigation that included 14,000 documents and more than two dozen interviews, the house ethics committeeman matt gaetz. this morning, continued fallout into the alleged conduct of former congressman and trump ally matt gaetz. the bipartisan house ethics committee found substantial evidence that gaetz violated multiple state laws, including accusing him of illegal drug use and allegedly paying nearly $100,000 to 12 different women for sex between 2017 and 2020. according to the report, gaetz allegedly had sex with a teenager in 2017. he was a freshman congressman, and she had just finished her junior year of high school. gaetz maintains he did nothing wrong. >> i have not had a relationship with a 17 year old. that is totally false. >> the woman, known as victim a, testified to the committee that gaetz had sex with her twice at a party after she, quote, recalled receiving $400 in cash from representative gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex. victim said she never told gaetz she was under 18 at the time and he did not ask. the house ethics committee said the relat

the house ethics committee voting to release its report on him after its investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use. >>> tonight, california declaring a statof emergency over the bird flu after the cdc reported the first severe case in a separate state. what health officials are saying. >>> the plunge on wall street after the fed's decision to cut interest rates. the dow falling more than 1,000 points, the worst losing streak in 50 years. >>> flash flooding on the east coast. the winter storm moving into the northeast with rain and snow. we are tracking it all. >>> caught on camera. the deadly plane crash in hawaii. >>> a passenger who was unruly and dying on a cruise ship. the fbi investigation. >>> our access inside the tsa and fbi bomb detection lab. >>> the tiktok trend coming to a santa claus lane near you. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> in what could be seen as another sign of elon musk's influence, the president-elect called for scrapping a spending bill backed by some republicans raising the changes of a government shutdown.

a report has been released by the house ethics committee accusing former congressman matt gaetz of paying a 17 year-old for using illegal drugs and a lot more. washington correspondent maddie beer-temple has more on how he's responding. >> the bipartisan house ethics committee started investigating gaetz in 2021, the panel's 37 page now released report says it found, quote, substantial evidence against him. the house ethics committee alleges former florida congressman matt gaetz from 2017 to 2020 paid tens of thousands of dollars to women likely in connection to and or drugs. the report rights he, quote, violated house rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution. statutory rape, illicit drug use and more. the committee says gaetz paid a 17 year-old after having at a party and also says he used cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana. gaetz denies all wrongdoing. he posted on x last week. it's embarrassing, though, not criminal that are probably partied woman aisd drank and smoked more than i should have earlier in life. he filed a lawsuit monday seeking to block the release of th

whereas there is precedent for the committee on ethics in the united states house of representatives to continue investigating and release reports of its investigation into former members of the house of representatives. whereas in 1988, the committee on ethics of the house of representatives released a report on its investigation into allegations of the misuse of campaign funds, improper gift, the failure to reveal business interests on his financial disclosure and the acceptance of a tbrieb bribe by former representative bill boner following his resignation from congress, whereas in 1990 the committee on ethics of the house of representatives released a report on its investigations of sexual misconduct allegations which included having sexual intercourse with a minor and making sexual advances toward a congressional employee against former representative don lukans, following his resignation from congress. whereas in 2006 the committee on ethics in the house of representatives released a report on its investigation of sexual misconduct allegations which included sending sexually exp

but the true precedent that was set here was that this was a thorough investigation by the house ethics committee. people should not lose sight of the fact that typically, this house ethics committee does not conduct a long investigation, have this much evidence, and then find that the congress person actually violated the law. therefore, usually the person doesn't have to run from congress. they can remain in congress and not deal with any potential consequences. so it's a big deal that they released the report. but that has happened before. and it just further establishes that there is a time when these reports must be released so that the public is fully aware of what their elected officials are doing. >> tom, that's such a great point that kendrick just made. having covered congress for a decade plus, we often were aware of of investigations ongoing. never really saw the end of them heard the end of them, didn't really know what they entailed. certainly didn't know the scale that ever matched something like this. does this change how that committee, how its investigators operate going forward

ways i think with the ethics committee was doing was defending the norms and processes and that's where johnson ultimately got this wrong. he had a committee on ethics in the house that they've been manipulated by matt gaetz for several years i was right for the committee to make the move and then you get to the substance of this. mike johnson was also covering up what appears to be credible allegations of statutory rape, that used to be disqualifying for any leader and it's not apparently in today's republican party so mike johnson is just as much of a corporate as it comes to civil verdicts when it relates to sexual misconduct, so in some is it's no surprise, the only surprise was that mike johnson wears his evangelical christianity on the sleeve but is fine to turn a blind eye to this. >> thanks for bringing us your reporting, when we come back, we have more on our top story, we have likely not seen the last of matt gaetz, you've already lined up a tv job. >>> speaker johnson managed to avoid a government shutdown but has he avoided getting the acts from his republican caucus. the democrats have said that he's on his own. >>> later we will talk about the inco

house. ethics report on matt gaetz after all. and a huge about face the house ethics committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of now former republican congressman matt gaetz. that's according to multiple sources. remember back in november, while gates was still president elect, trump's choice to be u.s. attorney general, this same panel of five democrats and five republicans voted strictly along party lines, thus keeping the report under wraps, which presumably means at least one republican changed his or her mind and sided with democrats to release the report. the report, which could be released in days, contains the results of the committee's years long probe into allegations against gaetz, including whether he engaged in sexual misconduct or used illicit drugs or shared inappropriate images or videos on the house floor, and much more. gaetz has denied all of this, and he posted today on x, quote, i was charged with nothing. he's referring to the justice department investigation, fully exonerated, not even a campaign finance violation. my 30s were an era of working very hard and playing ha

become the attorney general of the united states, that he was under investigation by the house ethics committee. >> i think the biggest argument that gates made in that, in that argument was, you know, you had the biden justice department didn't charge me with anything. what's the house ethics panel going to going to come with? and i think that was a good argument for president trump and certainly a good argument for the transition. it's like, you're right, we've already seen the weaponization of the justice department during during during joe biden. we'd expect that to take place during during matt gaetz, they clearly didn't have enough to move forward. and i think that was enough to answer the questions with respect to the transition. >> and president trump clearly didn't do a whole lot of vetting of matt gaetz before that nomination to become the attorney general of the united states. and mr. gaetz is floating the idea of actually swearing in to congress on january 3rd. he was reelected. then he dropped out of congress. what do you think? what do you make of that threat? >> i think it's him

plus, matt gaetz just responded to a cnn report that the house ethics committee plans to release its report on his alleged sexual misconduct. the former congressman claims the details that could could go public in a matter of days are embarrassing, but not criminal. and california governor or another shot at the oval office. we have cnn reporting on kamala harris next act, including what her closest advisers think she'll decide and when. i'm dana bash. let's go behind the headlines and inside politics first up, donald trump isn't one to let bygones be bygones. and early this morning. well, more accurately, the middle of the night, the president elect put out this ominous message on on truth, social quote, liz cheney could be in a lot of trouble. he was referring to claims in a new house republican report calling for cheney to be prosecuted for her work on the january 6th select committee. the report accuses her of witness tampering. cnn's kristen holmes joins me now kristen, the time of day is certainly noteworthy. the content is more so. >> yeah, it's certainly starting to feel a lo

this amounts to a really searing set of findings by the house ethics committee, concluding that theremr gaetz paid numerous women for sex, including a 17—year—old girl and repeatedly used and purchased illegal drugs including using his office in capitol hill to buy marijuana online, among otherfindings. but as you say, highly damaging for the former congressman and given the fact that he had only last month been picked by donald trump to be the attorney general, to be the most senior law officer in the united states, officer in the united states. now, he then withdrew from that nomination to do the nomination due to the groundswell of controversy over this and incendiary and capitol hill and divisive even among his own republican colleagues. but mr gaetz has denied any wrongdoing in the lead up to this and after today's publication of the report, he has been very active on the social media site x, saying that, in his view, giving funds to women that he was stating that they did not ask for is not in his words, prostitution. and also accusing the ethics committee the ethics committee a

member has resigned, that the ethics committee typically doesn't release these ethics reports or investigations into those members. >> now, what we also know is that the house ethics committee is evenly divided, sara, which means in order for this report to have been released, there would have had to have been at least one republican who voted. with democrats. now, we should note that in the past there are two examples that cnn has found of members who resigned from congress and later ethics committee actually did release their investigations, or at least part of their investigations into those members, both. representative bill bonner, a former house member and senator john ensign. >> sara loren fox, thank you so much. a lot of reporting this morning. breaking news that that final draft you guys have and the whole report expected to come out a bit later this morning. kate. >> absolutely. joining us right now to discuss cnn political commentator, democratic strategist karen finney and former white house spokesperson under george w bush. pete, it's good to see you guys. thank you so much for being here. pete, let's start with what we have just learned. and l

so, jasmine, as we look at this, the fact that the house ethics committee had initially voted along party lines to keep this report sealed. what changed? what convinced some republicans on the ethics committee to instead change their vote and release this report? >> yeah, erica. well, i think you're right. there was always going to be a question of whether they would, whether they not. but ultimately, two republicans sided with democrats to release this report. that's not, of course, the chair. the chair didn't want that out. he said it within the report. and another democrat on that bipartisan committee. but i think what's really interesting here is that this is a committee of matt gaetz peers, former peers, and potentially future peers that voted to release that. they said that it was for transparency sake, making the case that the american public deserved to know what a sitting member of congress was accused of. now, of course, matt gaetz has denied all of these allegations. in fact, it kind of accused this committee of weaponizing this information that he again denies as false against

the house ethics committee is expected to meet today to discuss next steps after it previously declinedlican congressman matt gaetz. democratic congressman sean casten of illinois is looking to force a vote to release the years' long investigation into accusations against gaetz. those claims involve sex with a minor and elicit drug use. gaetz, who was donald trump's pick to be attorney general before withdrawing his nomination, has denied all wrongdoing. he's also resigned from congress. joining us now, msnbc political analyst juanita tolliver. good to see you. let's talk about there debate here. why do you suppose congressman casten has deemed it so important to release this report, and what big picture can this tell us, perhaps, about the state of the republican party and who donald trump had wished to put in power? >> right, i think that big-picture moment is a key motivation for representative casten as he continues to push for this resolution that he wants to bring to the house floor for a vote to release this report. i think he's motivated by the tensions that have been previously

the house ethics committee says that matt gaetz was engaging in commercial sex. so prostitution, hiring women for sex or paying them whenever he was a sitting member of congress. also, they believe there is evidence of statutory rape under florida's laws. him having sex with a woman who at the time was a girl, a 17 year old who had just completed her junior year of high school, having sex with her at a party twice, including once in the presence of other people they have. they have testimony from that woman, as well as others who were able to corroborate her story. and then in addition to that, they say that matt gaetz was using illicit drugs at the time that he was a congressman. many of these allegations are about what was happening between 2017 and 2020, those years that he was in congress. gaetz and his lawyer have been denying these allegations, saying that they are false over and over again. but it is quite a significant set of findings from this draft report obtained by cnn. >> yeah, i mean, he's he's been saying that they're false. and he's also now respo

senior doj officials say the house ethics committee is a lower bar. believe they would be successful in a prosecutor. it was career prosecutors who made the decision not to bring the case. as for gaetz himself, we heard from him today saying that the house ethics committee brought this on christmas eve eve, not allowing him to respond to it in court. >> julia ainsley, thank you so much. >>> the holiday week officials is here. it is off to a bitter cold start for millions in the eastern half of the country. snow and freezing temperatures already caused issues at the airports and on the roads in the midwest and the northeast over the weekend. since friday more than 26,000 flights have been delayed or canceled. it wasn't any better over the weekend on the rails. a lot of people got stuck waiting for their amtrak trains on sunday after downed power lines caused delays from new york down to washington, d.c. meteorologist bill karins is tracking the winter weather. let's start with nbc news correspondent adrienne broaddus at chicago's o'hare airport. it doe

house ethics report. well, this was a searing set of findings from the house ethics committee, and ultimately, it puts the back on to the decision by donald trump last month to nominate matt gaetz for attorney—general, because here you have a decision in which mr trump knew these allegations had been swirling for some time, allegations around underage six, the use of illegal drugs, and still he went ahead with a decision to try to appoint matt gaetz as the most senior legal officer in the united states. now, in terms of any damage that does him, i think you have to bear in mind that he has already taken a lot of the political heat for that because ultimately republicans in congress made clear they weren't going to tolerate this. that's why mr gaetz couldn't get the support to go through any confirmation process to become attorney—general, so that damage is, in a sense, baked in, but it returns attention to that. i think there is a degree to which of course mr trump is insulated from accusations about his judgment, very much because of the fact he is not a conventional politician. he was elected with a man

to that scathing ethics report from the house of represe ♪ >>> tonight, the scathing new report about president-elect trump's first pick for attorney general, the house ethics committeeevealing florida republican matt gaetz may have violated state laws on prostitution, statutory rape and illicit drug use. inside the pages of texts, checks, financial statements, testimony. the former congressman forcefully pushing back tonight. >>> the record holiday travel rush as massive crowds head home for the holidays. train service not yet back on track in the nation's most congested corridor. and the cold snap complicating last-minute travel. >>> the suspect charged with murdering unitedhealthcare's ceo pleading not guilty. our first look at him in court as his legal team cries foul. >>> president biden commuting nearly ever death row inmate to life without parole. why now? and who was left off the list? >>> the suspect arrested over a horrifying attack on a new york subway, allegedly setting a woman on fire. >>> rescues in the pacific ocean after a pier collapses. the breaking news just in. >>> the dramatic light show ending in horror after drones fell into the crowd watching

erica brown, cbs news, >>> just before leaving washington for the holidays the house ethics committeed almost immediately by filing a lawsuit attempting to stop the report's publication. but he failed to block its release. cbs's scott macfarlane has the latest from capitol hill. >> reporter: matt gaetz, who just weeks ago was trying to land the job of u.s. attorney general -- >> folks have been very supportive. >> reporter: -- is now alleged to have violated florida's statutory rape law. the u.s. house ethics committee, which first launched an investigation of gaetz three years ago, has issued a 42-page report of its findings, alleging they found evidence gaetz paid a 17-year-old girl who'd just completed her junior year in high school $400 for sex in 2017 and made payments of more than $90,000 to 12 different women, likely for sexual activity and drug use. the report says women testified sexual encounters were consensual. one woman told the panel the use of drugs at parties with gaetz may have impaired her ability to know what was going on. gaetz has denied all of the allegations. >>

and the house ethics committee confirms it found evidence. former congressman matt gaetz may have committed statutory rape as the final draft of its bombshell report is finally made public. >> plus, as one of his final moves in office, president biden commuted the sentences for all but three federal death row inmates. we're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to cnn news center we begin this hour here. >> the man accused of killing unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson pleaded not guilty today to state murder and terror charges in new york. luigi mangione was escorted into a new york courtroom this morning, where he was arraigned on those 11 state charges, including first degree murder and terrorism. if found guilty of the top charge, the 26 year old could spend the rest of his life in prison without parole. his attorney, expressing concerns, though, in court today that new york city mayor eric adams and law enforcement were politicizing her client's arrest and making it difficult for mangione to get

. >>> plus, in a major reversal, the house ethics committee is expected to release the years-long probe into allegations of matt gaetz's past misconduct. we'll break down what's likely in the report and what gaetz is now saying about it. >>> and also ahead, we'll go over president joe biden's concerns that his long-term economic progress will go unnoticed, and who he's partly blaming for the public's view of the economy. e public's view of the economy. >>> good morning and welcome to "way too early" on this thursday, december 19th. the penultimate day of my run here on "way too early." i'm jonathan lemire. thank you for starting your day with us. we have a lot to get to this morning, including this stunning news off the top. the bipartisan plan to fund the government is no more. after president-elect trump and elon musk voiced their opposition to the bill yesterday. despite having the stamp of approval from congressional leadership, trump and vice president-elect jd vance put out a joint tement condemning the bill and demanded the legislation include a debt ceiling increase. quote, incr

i only know the house ethics committee by reputation.te capable and good at what they do. i'm quite interested in seeing what details we'll find. >> every time you're at this table i feel i'm earning a law degree because just because you're not charged doesn't mean you're exonerated. >> the justice department does not exonerate people, period. >> let's switch gears and talk about poor speaker johnson and his future. listen to congressman don bacon, republican of nebraska, on velshi i believe today about poor mike johnson. >> i can't say he'll be the next speaker because you have the gentleman from kentucky saying he's going to oppose him. anybody that's going to go against speaker johnson is weakening our conference and is strengthening the hand of hakeem jeffries just to be blunt about it. >> brendan, that's not wrong. also because when the new congress is sworn in on january 3rd , it's a two-seat or one- seat majority depending on -- >> there's a little buffer before elise stefanik and mike waltz leave for the administrations, very lit