Congress could go around Ethics Committee if it doesn’t release Gaetz report
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(WASHINGTON) — While the House Ethics Committee will meet behind closed doors on Wednesday to discuss its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, it’s possible that Congress could go around the committee to release the panel’s findings.
According to House rules, any member of Congress can go to the floor and tee up a vote on a “privileged resolution” that would force the Ethics Committee to release its report on Gaetz within two legislative days.
The member would only have to argue that not releasing the report impacts the “dignity” or “integrity” of the House or “reputation” of its members.
The action would be unusual, but not unprecedented. In the 1990s, Democrats repeatedly tried to force the Ethics Committee to divulge information about investigations into then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Those efforts came up short because Republicans closed ranks around Gingrich and the majority. But Gaetz is incredibly unpopular on Capitol Hill, and it would only take a handful of Republicans — along with all Democrats — to pass the resolution.
“If you’re a member of Congress, do you really want to be in the business of defending Matt Gaetz?” former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pennsylvania, who led the Ethics Committee, told ABC News Monday.
Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said there are “plenty” of precedents of the committee disclosing reports even after a member has resigned.
Wild said that all members of the committee have access to the report and hopes that “one or more” Republicans will vote with Democrats for its release.
Asked if that’s a possibility, Wild said, “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to all of them. I mean, everybody, everybody on the committee now has the report, so they’ve got the opportunity to be reviewing it.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson has opposed releasing the report, saying he’s protecting an “important guardrail for out institution” that any ethics investigation ends once a member leaves the House.
On Tuesday, Johnson denied that Trump or Gaetz have pressured him to bury the report or that he had discussed it with them or Ethics Committee Chairman Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss.
“I wouldn’t have that conversation with [Gaetz]. Because that’s not appropriate for us to do that,” Johnson said. “President Trump respects the guardrails of our institution as well, and I’m very guarded about those things. So neither of those gentlemen would breach that.”
“I haven’t talked to Michael Guest about the report. I talk to all my colleagues, but I know where the lines are. I have no idea about the contents of the report,” Johnson told reporters as he walked back to his office from a news conference.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a brief “Yes” when asked Tuesday if the Gaetz report should be released to the public.
If the Ethics Committee doesn’t vote to release its findings, Democrats could raise the possibility of forcing a floor vote – which would put Republicans on the record about Gaetz.
(PHILADELPHIA) — During the presidential debate Tuesday night, former President Donald Trump doubled down on the false claim that migrants from Haiti are stealing and eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said.
These baseless rumors have spread widely online in recent days — amplified by right-wing politicians, including vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance — after a series of social media posts have gone viral claiming Haitian migrants were abducting people’s pets in order to eat them.
A spokesperson for the city of Springfield told ABC News these claims are false, and that there have been “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community.”
“Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes. Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic,” the spokesperson added.
According to the Springfield News-Sun, the Springfield Police Department has not received any reports of pets being stolen and eaten. The city even created a webpage debunking some of the claims.
Migrants have been drawn to the region because of low cost of living and work opportunities, the city says on its site. The city estimates there are around 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants living in the county, and that the rapid rise in population has strained housing, health care, and school resources. But the city also says that the migrants are in the country legally and that many are recipients of Temporary Protected Status from the federal government.
The false claim that immigrants are targeting people’s pets stemmed from a social media posting originally from a Springfield Facebook group that went viral, where the poster wrote that their neighbor’s daughter’s friend had lost her cat. The poster went on to make an unsubstantiated claim of Haitians allegedly taking the cat for food.
The post was picked up by people on social media, including rightwing activist Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA and Elon Musk.
One of the most prominent images circulating online, which depicts a man holding a dead goose, was taken two months ago not in Springfield, but in Columbus, Ohio. The resident who took the photo told ABC News he was surprised to see his image used to “push false narratives.”
Prominent Republicans have boosted this falsehood on social media. An AI-generated image, which showed Trump holding cats and ducks, was shared by the House Judiciary GOP account on X.
Vance, in particular, has magnified the debunked claim.
In a post on X, Vance published a video of himself at a July Senate Banking Committee hearing, reading a letter from Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck about the city’s challenges in keeping up with housing for the growing Haitian immigrant population.
In the post, Vance pushed the false claim that Haitian immigrants are kidnapping and eating people’s pets in Springfield.
“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio,” Vance wrote on X. “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” he asked, a term that Republicans have attempted to tag Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris with, although she has denied holding that role.
After endorsing Kamala Harris on X Sunday, former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona praised the vice president’s grasp of foreign policy and her proposal for tougher border restrictions on ABC News’ “This Week.”
With 37 days until Election Day, Flake said he made his endorsement now since he couldn’t participate in political activities in his role as ambassador to Turkey, which he stepped down from on Sept. 1.
“I think Republicans believe in the rule of law in particular, and it’s difficult to support a candidate who, having lost an election, tries to use the powers of the presidency to overturn that election,” Flake told ABC “This Week” anchor Martha Raddatz. “That is anything but respect for the rule of law.”He said that other conservative Republicans feel similarly.
In his endorsement, Flake wrote that he believes Harris will unite the country and “respect the will of voters.” He also discussed his endorsement in an interview with the Arizona Republic.
The former congressman and senator joins other prominent Republicans who have endorsed Harris, including former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
Flake is one of a handful of Republicans who have served in President Joe Biden’s administration, along with Cindy McCain, the widow of former Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Since leaving the Senate in 2019, Flake has been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and urged Republicans to “move away from Trump-ism.”
Flake also endorsed Biden in 2020 on the first day of the Republican National Convention along with dozens of former GOP members of Congress.
He said that Harris “ought to court all voters,” particularly moderate and conservative Republicans.
Asked about his interactions with Harris during his time as an ambassador, Flake said that she is ready to serve as commander in chief.
“We have to support and work with our allies,” Flake said. “And she understands that.”
He pointed to Harris’ speech at the Munich Security Conference and each candidate’s approach to foreign policy during the ABC presidential debate.
“It was really stark watching the debate the other day and hearing the former president not be able to even cheer for Ukraine,” said Flake. “That’s a big issue for me.”
Raddatz pressed Flake on whether his endorsement would make inroads with voters in Arizona who are a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, of which he is a member. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah., another high-profile Mormon Republican opposed to Trump, has not endorsed Harris.
Flake demurred, responding that “I can only speak for myself and where I am.”
Raddatz asked Flake about his thoughts on one of the vice president’s biggest vulnerabilities after her visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, her first in three years. A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found that voters thought Trump was better suited to handle the border over Harris by 10 points.
Flake said that he was glad to see Harris visit the border and propose stricter asylum restrictions. He pointed to her work as a prosecutor and attorney general, saying, “She knows what it takes.” Harris’ campaign is looking to gain ground on an issue of high importance to voters.
While in Congress, Flake backed a bipartisan immigration proposal that failed to pass. When pressed by Raddatz on the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the southern border, Flake said there needs to be stricter asylum policies.
He applauded Harris for saying she would sign the immigration bill that failed in the Senate after Republican opposition led by Trump cratered the legislation.
“She knows how to work on a bipartisan basis, and if we do immigration reform that endures, it’s going to have to be bipartisan,” said Flake.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will need to navigate the pitfall-filled debate of their political lives on Tuesday as each tries to persuade millions of voters and viewers that they’re the one best suited to be president.
Harris, whose wave of momentum has brought Democrats back to a neck-and-neck presidential race, will have to prosecute the case against Trump while also laying out how her agenda could help the country — particularly beleaguered middle- and working-class Americans.
Trump, meanwhile, has the task of casting his record on the economy and immigration as superior to Harris’ while avoiding distracting personal attacks on Harris.
The ABC News presidential debate will take place on Sept. 10 at 9 p.m. ET and air on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.
The showdown in Philadelphia is taking place months after the last debate ended President Joe Biden’s reelection bid, sending Harris rushing to stand up an eleventh-hour campaign and Trump scrambling to figure out how to negatively define a new opponent voters are less familiar with.
“I think there’s an outsized expectation of ‘gosh, the last guy dropped out, let’s watch it.’ So, I think that there’s a lot more at stake than normally I would ever say is at stake,” said Sean Spicer, Trump’s first White House press secretary.
“I’m not a huge believer that debates move the needle that much,” he added, “but I do think that because of the nontraditional nature of what’s happening right now, there’s going to be an outsized degree of attention.”
Democrats who spoke to ABC News said that Harris has two main goals: affirm to voters that she is ready to lead the country and the free world and to describe in more detail what policies she’d pursue as president.
Some Democratic sources said that voters could be concerned by Harris’ rapid ascension as the Democrats’ nominee and — unjustly, they said — her gender when thinking of the kind of president they’d feel comfortable with.
A strong debate performance could allay worries and cement the momentum she’s enjoyed to date.
“I think she has to answer the overarching question, which is, can she lead the country, and what type of president will President Harris be? People just want to be comfortable in that decision,” said Bakari Sellers, a prominent Harris ally. “I don’t want her to be timid at all. Just be yourself, be comfortable, answer questions and turn around and hammer him.”
Trump has sought to cast Harris as “dangerous” by painting her as a “California liberal” who was soft on crime and generally out of step, referencing her time as state attorney general and senator and relying on voters’ perceptions of the progressive bastion to fill in the blanks.
That’s something Harris could use the debate stage to push back on, possibly repeating parts of her stump speech in which she details her efforts as California attorney general combating transnational gangs operating across the southern border.
One source familiar with the Harris campaign’s thinking said the vice president should “clearly [stake] out where she stands on issues like the border and crime and [talk] about her record on those issues as a prosecutor and attorney general to demonstrate that the portrayals are misrepresenting her actual views on those issues.”
That defense will likely be complemented by an effort to highlight Harris’ economic policies, which she’s recently begun to roll out, to also address voter worries about inflation.
Harris has introduced plans to make it easier to buy a house and start a small business, while, in a nod to the business community, saying she’d also increase the capital gains tax by less than Biden has proposed.
“It’s an important opportunity for her to continue to lay out her economic vision, to demonstrate both through talking about her experience and her vision, that she will be a strong leader, as she has said, for all Americans,” one source close to Harris’ team said.
However, Harris is facing off against maybe the most unpredictable non-traditional figures in modern politics, and Trump is likely to throw in curveballs that could take the vice president off her talking points.
Trump has already launched a fusillade of personal attacks, including questioning Harris’ race and intelligence and highlighting vulgar suggestions about sexual acts.
So far, Harris has barely responded, casting the barbs as the “same old, tired playbook.”
Now, some allies would like to see her fight back.
“I think there is a mechanism whereby you stand up to bullies and you call it out for what it is and simply say that, ‘while the former president is using racism as political currency, I represent a new future, one where we don’t divide people and use such degrading terms to anyone,’ Sellers said. “I would look him dead in the eye and say, ‘former President Trump, we are better than you right now.'”
Others weren’t so sure.
“I would ignore what are likely to be rude, disrespectful behaviors from Trump, and stay focused on the substance, because by doing so, it will further highlight for people just how disgusting his behavior can be,” said the source close to Harris’ team.
Republicans, for their part, hope to avoid that scenario altogether.
GOP operatives who spoke to ABC News said Trump should focus on policy contrasts, boasting that he has the edge on issues like inflation and immigration and can try to pin her down on her policy reversals on things like fracking – while he himself searches for consistent stances on issues like abortion.
“He’s not going to have many other windows where Kamala Harris is going to be asked tough questions and tough follow up questions, and so he needs to keep his responses and very focused on her issue positions that have come out of her mouth and make her reconcile what she’s saying now with what she said in 2020,” said GOP strategist Brad Todd.
“When she says, ‘I’m not for banning fracking,’ then he needs to say, “so, you wrong before? What caused you to believe that your previous position was wrong? Or are you just worried about Pennsylvania'” Todd said, referencing the swing state’s economic reliance on the practice.
Trump has at times knocked leaned into that message, knocking her promises for “day one” by noting she’s already been in office for almost four years serving a president facing severe disapproval ratings when he dropped out of the race.
It’s unclear precisely how effective that tie could be — an ABC News/Washington Post poll last month showed that only 11% of voters said Harris had a great deal of influence over economic policy, and just 15% said the same of immigration policy. But Republicans urged Trump to hammer the connection.
“For him to be viewed as having a successful debate, he has to continue that assault,” said one former campaign aide in touch with Trump’s current team. “She’s the vice president United States seeking the second term of Joe Biden. We can make that case.”
Still, Trump has a proven penchant for veering off into unrelated attacks, whether it be against opponents or moderators — a strategy that has helped him on the stump but one that could backfire on Tuesday.
“If he takes the bait and makes some kind of one-off comment about her and calls her names, I think that’s going to be the story the next day,” Spicer said.
“He’s a field player and he’s an improviser, and that’s what’s made him effective as a communicator,” Todd added. “But this is a time for discipline.”
