A Republican ally of Donald Trump got a dressing down from a CNN anchor on Wednesday night during a tense discussion over new reporting that federal authorities have a "web" of transactions between embattled former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and multiple women.
Federal investigators established a "trail of payments" from Gaetz to women, including some whom he has been accused of paying for sex, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
"The document, assembled by investigators during a three-year sex-trafficking investigation into Mr. Gaetz, is a chart that shows a web of thousands of dollars in Venmo payments between Mr. Gaetz and a group of his friends, associates and women who had drug-fueled sex parties between 2017 and 2020, according to testimony that participants are said to have given to federal and congressional investigators," reported Michael Schmidt. "At the parties, women, and a girl who was 17 at the time, were paid for sex, according to accounts of the participants’ testimony from people briefed on what they said."
Gaetz has vehemently denied all allegations and pointed to a Justice Department's decision not to press charges as evidence of his innocence.
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CNN anchor Abby Phillip brought up the "spiderweb" of payments on her show, "NewsNight," prompting Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky to decry, "Seriously, is this the best we can do?"
She noted there are "real" allegations that Gaetz has had sex with underage girls and admonished senators who vote to confirm him for attorney general.
"What is the point of advice and consent?" she asked. "What is the point of everything that was written about in the Federalist papers? Everything that's in the Constitution? Nothing."
When Republican Bruce Phillip, who served as executive director of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump's Presidential Campaign in 2016, tried to say the investigation was handled by Merrick Garland's Department of Justice, Phillip quickly interjected that the probe began under the Trump administration.
And as he insisted the Justice Department found there was "nothing there," Roginsky interrupted.
"No they didn't," she said. "They said they didn't have enough to indict. That shouldn't be the standard."
The discussion took a turn, however, when Levell shot back, "No, to charge, dear."
Levell's apparent dismissal of Roginsky's point didn't sit well with her.
"Oh, 'Dear?'" she scoffed. "Excuse me? Oh, well thank you for the misogyny."
Phillip then briefly paused the discussion and dressed down Levell at the table.
"Hold on. I'm just going to stop it right here. Because we're not going to get off on a wrong foot. Please do not address a grown woman as 'Dear' in a condescending tone. Do not do that at my table," she said.
Watch the tense exchange below or at this link.
