Scandal-ridden former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has at least one outspoken defender — another disgraced former congressman.
"Is Matt Gaetz a choir boy? NO! Is he a bad person? NO!" wrote former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) on X. "Is the 'ethics' report bias and mental to smear him? YES! I want to call for a special counsel to start an investigation on all 435 members of the house of the 119th Congress and watch it all come down in flames! Cheats, insider traders, DUI’s, DWI’s, prostitution, and, illegals drugs consumption are all some of the commonalities across the board in BOTH parties in the US House of Representatives."
"Bunch of hypocrites," continued Santos, who went on to call the House Ethics Committee "lords sitting on an altar with pointy hats on."
The report, released on Monday after weeks of debate and internal bickering by Republicans, outlined "substantial evidence" that Gaetz, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, “regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him,” and “violated House Rules, state and federal laws, and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, acceptance of impermissible gifts, the provision of special favors and privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”
Gaetz has denied all allegations and claimed he is the victim of a shakedown.
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Trump had initially selected Gaetz to serve as his attorney general, but he withdrew from that nomination after it became clear Senate Republicans weren't interested in confirming him.
Santos, who was first elected in 2020, was expelled from the House in an overwhelming, bipartisan vote after a series of scandals including fabricating almost all of his campaign biography, extensive accusations of campaign finance abuses, and federal charges of fraud committed against his own donors.
Notably, Santos also went through a blistering House Ethics Committee investigation, and at the time, Gaetz went to bat for him as well.
