He explained Matt Gaetz’s hacking allegations and Trump’s attorney general selection

A hacker reportedly has “damaging” evidence against Matt Gaetz, a former U.S. representative from Florida and President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick for the nation’s top law enforcement official.

According to the New York Times, an unidentified hacker accessed secure evidence shared with lawyers representing clients who say Gaetz had sex with a woman when she was a minor.

These are the latest findings regarding the allegations against Gaetz, which first emerged in 2020, during the first Trump administration, and emerged in the weeks leading up to his proposal. taking over the same department that once ran it.

Here’s what you need to know about the charges, the burglary and what might happen next.

What are the allegations against Matt Gaetz?

Gaetz, who has been involved in politics since 2010 and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016, is at the center of several allegations that could bar him from serving as attorney general, including a lengthy investigation into claims of improper sexual behavior, illegal drug utilize, and ethical issues such as abuse of special privileges.

According to her lawyer Joel Leppard, a woman who attended a party that Gaetz also attended in 2017 testified before the House Ethics Committee that she saw Gaetz, then a congressman, having sex with a minor. Leppard said Monday that Gaetz paid the witness and another woman to have sex with him. Gaetz denied any wrongdoing.

What is the status of the investigation?

A Justice Department investigation into allegations that he obstructed justice and violated sex trafficking laws was closed last year. No criminal charges were filed.

Will the House of Representatives report be published?

After Trump nominated Gaetz as attorney general, he resigned from Congress, which calls into question the scope of the report because he is no longer subject to the ethics panel.

Still, there was pressure mostly Democratic senators for the House Ethics Panel to release a report ahead of Gaetz’s confirmation hearing. The House Ethics Panel – which has an equal number of Democrats and Republicans – will meet on Wednesday and vote on whether to consider releasing the report.

If the report is shared with senators, it is unclear whether it will be made public.

U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.) he said NBC Meet the press on Sunday said he believed senators should have access to the report, but whether it should be made public would be a matter of negotiation. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he did not believe the report should be made public because Gaetz is no longer a member of the House.

What’s going on with Matt Gaetz’s evidence hack?

An unidentified hacker gained access to a computer file shared with lawyers whose clients provided “damaging testimony” about Gaetz, according to reports New York Times.

The files contain 24 pieces of evidence, including sworn testimony from a woman who claimed Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17 and corroborating witness testimony. The Times reports that a person named Altam Beezley downloaded the file on Monday at 1:23 p.m. When the lawyer tried to contact the email address associated with Beezley, the message bounced.

The documents accessed in the hack include information sealed at the Justice Department from its investigation and a separate investigation by the House Ethics Committee. According to the Los Angeles Times, it does not appear that the material was made public by a hacker.

Will Matt Gaetz be confirmed?

It’s tough to say.

Even Trump acknowledged that Gaetz’s chances may be low New York Times announced that with Trump he reportedly called senators personally asking for confirmation from the former representative.

According to NPRRepublicans will have 53 seats in the upcoming Congress after the last election, which means Gaetz could only lose three votes from his party if he counts on support.

Multiple Republican lawmakers have told Trump and his team that they think Gaetz’s chances are slim, Policy reported/, and nearly a dozen Senate Republicans declined to say whether they would support Gaetz.

And even if he gained enough support, Policy she noted that the Judiciary Committee requires all nominees to undergo an extensive FBI investigation, which would reveal everything in a House ethics report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.