Politics

(WASHINGTON) — An attorney representing two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee told ABC News in an exclusive interview former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid both his adults clients for sex.

Florida attorney Joel Leppard told ABC News’ Juju Chang that one of his clients also witnessed Gaetz having sex with a third woman — who was then 17 years old — at a house party in Florida.

“She testified [that] in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Representative Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17,” Leppard said.

The Justice Department spent years probing the allegations against Gaetz, including allegations of obstruction of justice, before informing Gaetz last year that it would not bring charges. Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing related to the allegations investigated during Justice Department probe.

“Matt Gaetz will be the next Attorney General. He’s the right man for the job and will end the weaponization of our justice system. These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration. The Biden Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing. The only people who went to prison over these allegations were those lying about Matt Gaetz,” Alex Pfeiffer, Trump transition spokesman said.

Leppard, who has called for the House Ethics Committee to release its report amid Gaetz’s nomination to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general, told ABC News that the former congressman paid both of his clients for sex using Venmo.

“Just to be clear, both of your clients testified that they were paid by Representative Gaetz to have sex?” Chang asked.

“That’s correct. The House was very clear about that and went through each. They essentially put the Venmo payments on the screen and asked about them. And my clients repeatedly testified, ‘What was this payment for?’ ‘That was for sex,'” Leppard said.

Leppard’s interview with ABC News comes days after he publicly called for the House Ethics Committee to be released.

“As the Senate considers former Rep. Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, several questions demand answers,” Leppard said. “What if multiple credible witnesses provided evidence of behavior that would constitute serious criminal violations?”

The House Ethics Committee is expected to meet on Wednesday and discuss its report of Rep. Matt Gaetz and potentially vote on its release despite the fact that the investigation ended when Gaetz resigned from the House, multiple sources tell ABC News.

The news comes after the attorney on Friday first told ABC News that one of his clients had witnessed Gaetz have sex with a minor amid mounting pressure on the House Ethics Committee to release its report on its probe into the Florida congressman.

The two witnesses, who ABC News is not naming, both allegedly attended parties with the congressman and testified in both the federal and House Ethics investigations.

Gaetz’s one-time friend Joel Greenberg is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence after reaching a deal with prosecutors in May 2021 in which he pleaded guilty to multiple federal crimes including sex trafficking of a woman when she was a minor and introducing her to other “adult men” who also had sex with her when she was underage

Attorney John Clune, who represents the former minor at the center of the probe, called for the release of the Ethics Committee’s report on Thursday.

“Mr. Gaetz’s likely nomination as Attorney General is a perverse development in a truly dark series of events. We would support the House Ethics Committee immediately releasing their report. She was a high school student and there were witnesses,” Clune said in a statement.

The woman, who is now in her 20s, according to sources, testified to the House Ethics Committee that the now-former Florida congressman had sex with her when she was 17 years old and he was in Congress, ABC News previously reported.

Gaetz faces an increasingly uphill nomination process in the Senate, with at least five Republican senators signaling skepticism that he could get enough support to be confirmed. President-elect Trump has repeatedly urged GOP leadership to bypass the traditional confirmation process through recess appointments, where Trump could appoint his cabinet while Congress is out of session.

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(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump continues to announce his picks for top jobs inside his administration, most recently naming nominees for energy secretary and to helm the Federal Communications Commission.

Meanwhile, fallout continues for former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s choice to serve as attorney general. The House Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Calls are growing for the panel to release its report on Gaetz, who resigned from the House last week.

‘Dangerous’: Caroline Kennedy weighs in on RFK’s views on vaccines

Caroline Kennedy weighed in on her cousin Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s views on vaccines during remarks on Monday after he was announced as the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary.

“I think Bobby Kennedy’s views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don’t think that most Americans share them. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” she said at the National Press Club of Australia.

“You know, I grew up with him,” she added. “So, I have known all this for a long time and others are just getting to know him.”

Kennedy added that her uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, had fought for affordable health care, and that her family was proud of President Barack Obama signing the Affordable Care Act, which she said was built on Sen. Kennedy’s work.

“I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views,” Caroline Kennedy said.

–ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim

Trump transition live updates: Ethics Committee expected to meet on Gaetz: Sources

President-elect Donald Trump continues to announce his picks for top jobs inside his administration, most recently naming nominees for energy secretary and to helm the Federal Communications Commission.

Meanwhile, fallout continues for former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump’s choice to serve as attorney general. The House Ethics Committee was investigating Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Calls are growing for the panel to release its report on Gaetz, who resigned from the House last week.

‘Dangerous’: Caroline Kennedy weighs in on RFK’s views on vaccines

Caroline Kennedy weighed in on her cousin Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s views on vaccines during remarks on Monday after he was announced as the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary.

“I think Bobby Kennedy’s views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don’t think that most Americans share them. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” she said at the National Press Club of Australia.

“You know, I grew up with him,” she added. “So, I have known all this for a long time and others are just getting to know him.”

Kennedy added that her uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, had fought for affordable health care, and that her family was proud of President Barack Obama signing the Affordable Care Act, which she said was built on Sen. Kennedy’s work.

“I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views,” Caroline Kennedy said.

–ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim

House Ethics Committee expected to meet to discuss Gaetz report

The House Ethics Committee is expected to meet on Wednesday and discuss its report of Rep. Matt Gaetz, multiple sources tell ABC News.

While the meeting can still be cancelled, sources said the committee could potentially take a vote on whether to release the report.

-ABC News’ Rachel Scott and Will Steakin
 

‘Morning Joe’ co-hosts say they met with Trump on Friday

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski said on Monday morning that they had met with President-elect Donald Trump on Friday at Mar-a-Lago.

The goal of the meeting, they said, was to “restart communications” among the liberal-leaning morning show hosts and the incoming administration.

“Last Thursday, we expressed our own concerns on this broadcast, and even said we would appreciate the opportunity to speak with the president-elect himself. On Friday, we were given the opportunity to do just that. Joe and I went to Mar-a-Lago to meet personally with President-elect Trump. It was the first time we have seen him in seven years,” Brzezinski said.

Scarborough said the hosts and Trump did not “see eye to eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so.”

“What we did agree on was to restart communications,” Brzezinski added, noting that Trump seemed “cheerful” and “upbeat.”

—ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim

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(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday confirmed he would declare a national emergency to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations of migrants living in the U.S. without legal permission.

Overnight, Trump responded to a social media post from Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton, who said earlier this month there are reports the incoming administration is preparing such a declaration and to use “military assets” to deport the migrants.

“TRUE!!!” Trump wrote.

Trump pledged to get started on mass deportations as soon as he enters office.

“On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out,” he said during a rally at Madison Square Garden in the closing days of the presidential race. “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.”

Already, he’s tapped several immigration hard-liners to serve in key Cabinet positions. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was picked to be homeland security secretary, pending Senate confirmation. Former Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan was named “border czar.”

Homan previously discussed his vision for mass deportations, saying they would first concentrate on expelling criminals and national security threats. He didn’t rule out deporting families together.

Throughout the campaign, Trump vowed to mobilize the National Guard to assist with the deportation effort. Experts told ABC News such a move would mark a fundamental shift for the military, which does not normally engage with domestic law enforcement issues.

At times, Trump went further, suggesting thousands of troops from overseas be moved to the U.S.-Mexico border.

There are an estimated 11 million unauthorized migrants living in the U.S. without legal immigration status. Removing them could cost billions of dollars per year, according to estimates from the American Immigration Council.

Plus, mass deportations could have a broader economic impact by resulting in a loss of tax revenue and labor shortages.

ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz recently reported from California on the impact Trump’s immigration and mass deportations plans could have on the American agriculture industry.

“If you took away my workforce, you wouldn’t eat. If you go into the San Joaquin Valley and you start doing what you’re saying, it’s over. The country will stop, literally stop because the food system won’t move,” said Manuel Cunha Jr., the president of the Nisei Farmers League.

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(WASHINGTON) — Sen.-elect Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., expressed concern Sunday that some of President-elect Donald Trump’s selections of national security Cabinet positions could be beholden to his political preferences rather than an objective interpreting of intelligence.

Slotkin, a current U.S. representative and former CIA officer and Pentagon official, told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz that selections like Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to head national intelligence should tell Trump precisely what they’re seeing in the world rather than what they think the incoming president “wants to hear.”

“I just need to know that the people who are in these jobs are not going to be guided by politics and what someone tells them they think they should be seeing in the intelligence or in the defense picture, but what is actually the truth on the ground,” Slotkin said.

“Speaking truth to power is one of the most important things the intelligence community does, and if you have someone in there who feels more beholden to telling the president what he wants to hear, I got a real problem with that.”

Slotkin’s remarks come as Trump moves at a rapid pace to announce his Cabinet picks. Among the more controversial nominees have been Hegseth, Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to lead the Justice Department.

Hegseth has raised concerns over his past comments that women should not serve in combat roles.

“I can tell you, because I was at the Pentagon on Thursday, and there is absolute like hallway, constant chatter and conversation and concern from senior women officers. But also I’ve heard from folks who I’ve recommended to service academies, young women who are just starting out their career, saying, ‘Am I going to actually be able to accomplish what I want to accomplish here?'” Slotkin said.

Trump’s pick for defense secretary has also repeatedly criticized “woke” policies in the Pentagon, and advocated for firing top officials in the armed forces who have backed the department’s diversity efforts.

“I think they’ve been very clear that they’re putting together some sort of panel that’s going to look at generals, people who have served their nation the — their entire lives over multiple administrations, Democrat and Republican in combat, they are now openly talking about dismissing them like some sort of kangaroo court. You can imagine the stress in the Pentagon about that, but also in the future of who we are as a military,” Slotkin said.

Slotkin did sound a more positive note about Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Trump’s pick to lead the State Department and has a more conventional background as an advocate for muscular U.S. involvement in the world.

“We’re not perfect, but, man, I’d rather have American leadership over Chinese or Russian leadership any day of the week. And so, I hope that despite the impulses maybe of President-elect Trump, that we have Marco Rubio as a more traditional pick who’s going to understand that American role that leadership role is important,” she said.

Still, Slotkin declined to preview how she’d vote on any Cabinet nominee, despite her concern about people like Hegseth and Gabbard.

“In general, I’m a senator-elect, and advice and consent from the Senate is part of our constitutional process. So I’m going to try and meet with everybody, hear them out. But I also am a former CIA officer and Defense Department official. I know just how important these jobs are, not just for who gets what in Washington, but for the actual security of people in the United States,” she said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Lawmakers running for reelection loathe tough votes. And for senators up in purple states in two years, those tough votes are coming early.

President-elect Donald Trump is moving at a lightning pace to stock up his administration, mixing in conventional picks like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state with controversial moves like putting up Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for health and human services secretary. For frontline senators who hold the key to the next Senate majority, navigating their confirmations will be a minefield.

Republicans will be defending the seats of North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis and Maine Sen. Susan Collins, while Democrats will be working to protect Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters. Their confirmation votes for Trump’s Cabinet picks offer a chance to prove bipartisan bona fides, but backing a nominee who is too controversial risks opening them up to attack in races that could be decided by razor-thin margins.

“If they’re smart, then it’s a major factor. The midterms are still a ways off. Generally, voters have short attention spans, and so it’s debatable how much of this stuff they’re going to remember. But I think it’s uniquely important for people who may take heat from the right,” said one GOP strategist.

Some of Trump’s nominees are not anticipated to run into significant roadblocks.

Rubio has already received praise from some Democratic senators, and members of the chamber are often given some degree of deference when facing confirmation to Cabinet positions. Waltz and Ratcliffe may face tighter margins than Rubio but are also considered to be among Trump’s more conventional picks.

But Gaetz and Kennedy, along with Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to be director of national intelligence, and Fox News host Pete Hegseth, named to run the Pentagon, will likely enjoy no Democratic support at all. With Republicans winning a maximum of 53 Senate seats this month, that leaves their margin for error small if they hope to be confirmed.

Already, Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski have sounded skeptical notes about some of Trump’s choices, and other Republicans, including Tillis, have remained noncommittal.

The pressure will be on for Republicans, though.

Trump won a comprehensive victory, and before he announced his more controversial cabinet picks, Republicans on Capitol Hill were touting the need for unity as they prepared to take over a unified government in January.

Collins is considered to be in a league of her own, sources said. A senior Republican who’s likely one of the few candidates, if not the only one, who can win her state, she’s expected to have especially wide latitude to oppose a candidate she deems unfit.

And with a base in such lockstep with Trump, any defiance from other GOP lawmakers could trigger outrage from the famously mercurial president-elect — fury that could in turn result in a primary challenge, and not just for swing-staters like Tillis.

At the same time, supporting a controversial nominee who pushes the envelope too far once confirmed risks becoming a general election issue.

“There will be Trump voters who remember how Republican senators handle these nominations. And so, I do think that for senators who are up this cycle, the base is watching how they handle Trump’s nominees,” the Republican strategist said.

“Any of these other safe-state Republicans who are in cycle, it’s within Trump’s power to cause problems for them on the right, if he chooses to,” the person added.

Still, underscoring the catch-22, any votes for nominees deemed too controversial could end up in ads from their ultimate Democratic opponents labeling them a “rubber stamp” for Trump, the source warned.

The pressure is on for House members, too.

House members will not have a vote in the confirmation process, but they will inevitably field a slate of questions about nominees like Gaetz. Those running in purple districts could opt to punt, noting their lack of a vote, or they could knock the more controversial contenders, also risking blowback from Trump.

“I would try and push it to the Senate first and see if you get away with that. And if you don’t get away with that, then I would strongly advise to stand by your principles and not to end up going down a path for someone else that you didn’t choose for yourself,” said William O’Reilly, a GOP strategist in New York, home to many endangered House Republicans. “Loyalty goes so far, the public is looking for legislators that have a little bit of backbone and common sense.”

Democrats are also in a pickle of their own.

Ossoff and Peters are Senate Democrats’ top frontline members up in 2026. Offering support to some of Trump’s picks like Rubio, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., for national security adviser and former Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, for CIA director, could bolster their bipartisan bona fides. But going too far risks turning off Democrats, a major risk when they’ll need every single supporter energized in states Trump won this month.

“Waltz, Ratcliffe and Rubio, if you’re Ossoff and you vote for them, independent voters see you’re a straight shooter, and he can claim he’s bipartisan, because he was,” said one Georgia Democratic strategist. “And then he says, ‘look, I voted for everybody except Gabbard on his national security team.'”

To be certain, there are several other factors at play across the key midterm races. Incumbents’ opponents are far from finalized, the midterms will take place almost two years after confirmation votes start in January, and some nominees might not even make it to a vote.

But already, the knives are out.

“President Trump and JD Vance are going to be running the Senate,” Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Trump ally, said on Fox Business this week. “If you want to get in the way, fine. But we’re gonna try to get you out of the Senate, too, if you try to do that.”

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(NEW YORK) — After months of legal wrangling, Rudy Giuliani on Friday turned over his luxury sports car, several watches, a ring and financial assets to two Georgia election workers he defamed in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, his lawyer wrote Friday.

A federal jury ordered Giuliani last year to pay Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss nearly $150 million for defaming them with false accusations that the mother and daughter committed election fraud while the two were counting ballots in Georgia’s Fulton County on Election Day in 2020.

The attorneys for both sides waged a back in forth in court for months over the delivery of those assets and, last week, attorneys representing Freeman and Moss said Giuliani’s apartment was virtually empty when their receivership entered the property.

The poll workers’ representatives accused Giuliani of “secreting away” his property.

The former New York City mayor was given a Nov. 14 deadline to turn over the shares in his Upper East Side co-op apartment, valuable sports memorabilia, a blue Mercedes-Benz convertible that once belonged to Lauren Bacall, and luxury watches — including one that belonged to Giuliani’s grandfather.

Joseph Cammarata, Giuliani’s attorney, said in a four-page letter to U.S. Judge Lewis Liman, that “watches and a ring were delivered via FedEx” to an address in Atlanta on Friday morning, and that “the Mercedes Benz automobile was delivered as requested” to an address in Florida.

Giuliani’s bank was “advised to turn over all non-exempt funds” to the plaintiffs, as well, according to the filing.

Liman issued a warning that he would file a motion of contempt if Giuliani didn’t comply with the order to transfer the assets to Freeman and Moss.

Earlier on Friday, Ted Goodman, a spokesman for Giuliani, posted a video on X with several watches arrayed on a table.

“This right here, folks, this is the accumulation of 60 years of hard work,” Goodman said.

Despite giving up those assets, Cammarata argued that his client should not give up other assets.

He wrote a lengthy list of items they deemed “exempt,” including some jewelry of lower value, a refrigerator, a radio receiver and other household furniture. He also said a Joe DiMaggio jersey was part of the “overbroad” turnover list and will fight to keep it.

The attorney argued that the court “should never have allowed the turnover” of the Mercedes Benz, arguing that the car should be appraised and returned to Giuliani if the value does not exceed $5,500.

Cammarata also requested that the court reschedule a trial in this matter currently scheduled for Jan. 16, 2025, until after the inauguration, as Giuliani “plans to be present” at events in Washington that week.

Representatives for Freeman and Moss didn’t immediately comment on the delivery of the assets.

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(WASHINGTON) — An attorney representing two women who were witnesses in the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz is calling for the release of the committee’s report, telling ABC News that one of his clients testified that she witnessed the Florida congressman having sex with a minor.

“My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor,” Florida attorney Joel Leppard told ABC News.

“As the Senate considers former Rep. Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, several questions demand answers,” Leppard said. “What if multiple credible witnesses provided evidence of behavior that would constitute serious criminal violations?”

“Democracy demands transparency. Release the Gaetz Ethics report,” said Leppard, who represents two women who sat for closed-door testimony with the committee over the summer.

Gaetz, who President-elect Donald Trump selected this week to serve as his attorney general, has long denied any wrongdoing, including have an inappropriate relationship with a minor. The Justice department declined to charge Gaetz last year after a yearslong investigation into the allegations.

Gaetz did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News regarding Leppard’s claims.

The two witnesses, who ABC News is not naming, both allegedly attended parties with the congressman. Gaetz’s one-time friend Joel Greenberg is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence after reaching a deal with prosecutors in May 2021 in which he pleaded guilty to multiple federal crimes including sex trafficking of the woman when she was a minor and introducing her to other “adult men” who also had sex with her when she was underage.

According to Greenberg’s plea deal, the woman, who ABC News is not identifying, met Greenberg online in 2017 and began meeting him in hotels and houses in the Middle District of Florida, where he “introduced the Minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts with the Minor in the Middle District of Florida,” court documents said.

At the time, the minor “represented that she was an adult” on the website where she met Greenberg — and according to his plea agreement, he acknowledges that he “acted in reckless disregard of the fact that the Minor was less than 18 years old when he engaged in commercial sex acts” and had a “reasonable opportunity to observe” that she was underage.

Leppard’s statement comes after attorney John Clune, who represents the former minor at the center of the probe, called for the release of the Ethics Committee’s report on Thursday.

“Mr. Gaetz’s likely nomination as Attorney General is a perverse development in a truly dark series of events. We would support the House Ethics Committee immediately releasing their report. She was a high school student and there were witnesses,” Clune said in a statement.

The woman, who is now in her 20s, testified to the House Ethics Committee that the now-former Florida congressman had sex with her when she was 17 years old and he was in Congress, ABC News previously reported.

In a statement responding to that reporting, Gaetz said, “These allegations are invented and would constitute false testimony to Congress. This false smear following a three year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism.”

The Justice Department spent years investigating the allegations against Gaetz, including allegations of obstruction of justice, before informing Gaetz last year that it would not bring charges.

Gaetz has long vehemently denied any wrongdoing related to the Justice Department probe. In September, he released a detailed response to questions sent to him by the House Ethics Committee, which was investigating allegations of alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

“Your correspondence of September 4 asks whether I have engaged in sexual activity with any individual under 18. The answer to this question is unequivocally NO. You can apply this response to every version of this question, in every forum,” Gaetz said in a statement posted to his social media account.

Gaetz resigned from office this week after being selected to lead Trump’s Justice Department, which ended the House Ethics Committee’s probe that sources tell ABC News had been entering its final stages. Prior to Gaetz’s resignation, the committee had planned to meet this week to discuss whether to release their report on the investigation — leaving it unclear if the report will ever see the light of day.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday that he does not think the House Ethics Committee should release the findings of its investigation into Gaetz, now that the Florida Republican is no longer a member of Congress.

“I believe it is very important to maintain the House’s tradition of not issuing ethics reports on people who are no longer members of Congress. I think it would open a Pandora’s box,” he said.

Leppard told ABC News he supports the release of the report.

“What if sworn testimony detailed conduct that would disqualify anyone from serving as our nation’s chief law enforcement officer?” the attorney said in his statement to ABC News.

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(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday that he does not think the House Ethics Committee should release the findings of its investigation into Matt Gaetz, now that the Florida Republican is no longer a member of Congress.

“I believe it is very important to maintain the House’s tradition of not issuing ethics reports on people who are no longer members of Congress,” Johnson said. “I think it would open a Pandora’s box.”

Johnson weighing into the issue is extremely rare as House speakers traditionally stay out of the committee’s investigations and business.

Just two days ago, Johnson said the following about the report: “As far as the timing of the release of a report, or something, I don’t know. The speaker of the House is not involved in that, can’t be involved in that.”

The House Ethics Committee was in the final stages of investigating Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, sources confirmed to ABC News, before his resignation.

It’s unclear what the bipartisan panel will do now with its report. There are growing calls from senators on both sides of the aisle for the report to be released.

The House Ethics Committee, which sources said was preparing to meet this week to deliberate over whether to release a final report, was now not expected to meet on Friday, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Gaetz stepped down from the House shortly after being tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be attorney general — a choice that shocked some Republican lawmakers and many Justice Department officials. Gaetz will need to be confirmed by the Senate to serve in the role.

Asked on Friday if he spoke to Trump about the ethics investigation, Johnson sidestepped.

“I’m not talking to anybody about what I have said to Trump,” he said.

Johnson also claimed he was responding to public reports about the panel’s findings and had not been briefed on the investigation.

“The speaker has no involvement or understanding of what’s going on with the Ethics Committee or what they’re investigating or when,” Johnson added.

“What I am saying is someone who is no longer a member of Congress. You’re not in the business of investigating and publishing a report,” he concluded. “I would encourage the House Ethics Committee to follow that tradition. I think it’s important.”

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(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams visited “The View” Friday to give his thoughts on President-elect Donald Trump’s presidency and what it will mean for the city.

Adams said both sides of the political aisle needed to turn down the rhetoric and name-calling that has perpetuated the discourse for years. The mayor implied that the toxic rhetoric was a reason behind Trump’s victory, especially in the city where the former president gained ground among the electorate.

“What you saw in this city and a city becoming redder is because we stopped talking about broken class issues,” Adams said.

“They’re not talking about fascism, they’re talking about finance. They’re not talking about Hitler, they’re talking about housing,” the mayor added, referencing the statements from Trump opponents that he was a fascist.

“The View” co-host Ana Navarro noted that Vice President-elect JD Vance once called Trump Hitler. Adams reiterated that everyone must tone down their rhetoric.

Adams was also asked about his opinions on Trump’s controversial cabinet appointees, specifically Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been tapped to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

RFK Jr., who tried to run for president this year as a Democrat and Independent candidate before endorsing Trump, has pushed false claims about vaccine dangers and fluoride and promised to make massive cuts to health services if he is appointed by the Senate.

Adams pushed back against the fluoride claims but noted that the country needed to look at what is being put into food, which was another stance that RFK Jr. had taken in the past.

When pushed by “The View” hosts to respond to RFK Jr.’s proposals, Adams said he was confident that the people in place in the health agencies would do the right thing for the country.

“If we love our country, then no one individual should take us away from our mission,” he said.

“There are experts at this, they will look at his proposals and give analysis,” Adams added.

Adams said the city is prepared for various scenarios that Trump may inflict on them when it comes to his mass deportation proposal. The mayor said that New York has always welcomed immigrants and law-abiding immigrants and families will be protected, but stressed that the nation’s immigration system is broken.

He said the migrant crisis cost the city billions of dollars, and no one has provided it with the means or resources to deal with the over 200,000 migrants who were shipped to the city from other states.

“I’m not allowed to let them work (legally),” he said. “I’m not allowed to get them to participate in our tax system.”

In September, Adams became the first sitting New York City mayor to be indicted after federal prosecutors charged him with one count of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy, two counts of solicitation of a contribution from a foreign national and one count of bribery.

The indictment stems from alleged gifts, including upgraded airline flights and luxury hotel stays, given by Turkish businessmen and officials in exchange for preferential treatment by the mayor.

Adams has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. Federal investigators have probed several of his close confidants and officials over the last year, and many have resigned in the face of the ongoing investigations.

The trial against Adams is slated to begin in April.

Trump has come to Adams’ defense, claiming that the mayor was unjustly charged because of his opposition to President Joe Biden’s migrant policies.

Adams dodged a question about a possible Trump pardon or dismissal of his charges and maintained that he would continue to work for New Yorkers as he fights the charges.

“My job is to do what I have been doing since Jan. 1, 2022,” he said.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Air Force has awarded the Silver Star to a female airman for the first time following her role in the shootdown of more than 80 Iranian drones that were part of Iran’s large missile and drone attack on Israel in mid-April.

The historic award of the nation’s third-highest award for valor to a female airman comes at a time when the role of women in ground combat units has been front and center because of critical comments made by Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the next defense secretary.

Capt. Lacie “Sonic” Hester, an F-15E instructor weapons systems officer, is the first Air Force woman to receive the Silver Star and only the 10th female service member ever to receive the award. Also receiving the Silver Star on Tuesday was her pilot, Maj. Benjamin “Irish” Coffey, for his role in coordinating the shootdowns from their two-seat fighter and then using all of their missiles and their fighter’s Gatling guns to bring down some of the drones.

Tuesday’s award ceremony at their home base of Royal Air Force Lakenheath in the United Kingdom honored the men and women of the 494th Fighter Squadron and the 494th Fighter Generation Squadron with two Silver Stars, six Distinguished Flying Crosses with the valor device, four Distinguished Flying Crosses with the combat device, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars, seven Air and Space Commendation Medals and seven Air and Space Achievement Medals.

On the night of April 13, Iran launched more than 300 ballistic missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for an Israeli missile strike in Damascus, Syria, that killed a top Iranian commander. U.S. military aircraft and naval ships helped Israel in bringing down 99% of the weapons Iran fired at Israel in the attack.

The actions by the U.S. Air Force units involved in the shootdown of about 80 Iranian drones have been described as the largest air-to-air enemy engagement by the United States in over 50 years. Soon after the attack, President Joe Biden reached out to the commanders of the two units involved, the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and 335th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, to praise their units’ actions.

One of those commanders was Lt. Col. Timothy “Diesel” Causey, the commander of the 494th Fighter Squadron.

“We all fell into an execution rhythm: Call, shoot, and confirm the target was destroyed before we moved on to the next task we had to accomplish to keep everyone safe,” Causey said in a U.S. Air Force story about this week’s ceremony.

On the night of April 13, the F-15E’s from his squadron flew 14 sorties from an undisclosed base in the Middle East to shoot down the incoming drones. Patriot air defense missiles at the base were also fired to intercept the drones. Some of those fighters had to return and refuel before going back up to engage more of the drones, some of which occurred so close to that base that some of the falling debris landed on that base.

“Although intelligence provided the numbers of how many [one-way attack] drones we could expect to see, it was still surprising to see them all,” Hester said in an Air Force interview.

That night, Coffey and Hester were the airborne mission commanders directing the fighters toward the drones and were also actively engaged in shooting down drones, resorting to bringing the drones down with their fighter’s Gatling guns after they had used up all of their air-to-air missiles.

“It takes a high-performing team with high-performing individuals to be able to find these things to begin with and then to engage it,” Coffey said.

Among those receiving awards this week were many members of the squadrons’ airmen on the ground who helped keep the fighters flying in and out, especially as some of the fighters experienced in-flight emergencies.

Hester’s receipt of the Silver Star occurred the same week that Hegseth drew scrutiny for recent comments on a podcast in which he criticized the decision to allow women to serve in ground combat units.

“I’m straight up just saying, we should not have women in combat roles,” Hegseth said last week on the “The Shawn Ryan Show.”

The process of integrating women into combat units was a gradual one that began in 1993, when Defense Secretary Les Aspin issued an order that allowed women to fly fighter jets and bomber aircraft in combat.

But women were not allowed to serve in ground combat units until 2013, when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta rescinded the ban, which was subsequently enhanced in 2015 by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who cleared the path for women to serve in jobs that were still limited to men, including some in special operations.

On the podcast, Hegseth drew a distinction between women serving as pilots and those serving in ground combat units.

“I’m not talking about pilots,” Hegseth said. “I’m talking about physical labor type, labor intensive type job. … I’m talking about something where strength is a differentiator. Pilots? Give me a female pilot all day long. I got no issues with that.”

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