This isn’t a criminal proceeding. There are no charges pending or possibly forthcoming. This was a House Ethics Committee investigation into actions by one of their members. The outcome was supposed to be a report in the findings of the investigation, which would then inform the committee on actions they might take. Not any criminal charges, just condemnation or expulsion.
The reason the report hasn’t been released yet is because it wasn’t due to be released until Monday. We don’t know what is in it, because it wasn’t finished and signed off.
Gaetz abruptly quitting means nominally there is no reason to finish the report, because the highest sanction would be expulsion, and he’s already gone.
Is it possible there is nothing in the report that violates House Ethics rules, that none of the accusations were supported well enough to find them confirmed? Sure. But that is highly unlikely, which I’m sure Johnson is well aware, because members of Congress are witnesses to his behavior.
Normally, there would be no justification for releasing the results, because there is no longer any impact on Congress. But since Gaetz is a candidate needing Senate approval, Congress does have an interest in knowing the results. Thus Cornyn saying he might subpoena it.
Of you are speaking about the previous criminal investigation, that ended a while back. Why the Justice Department didn’t pursue charges then is that they didn’t feel they could make the case because it relied on two witnesses with credibility problems. One would have been Greenburg, Gaetz’s friend who was charged and eventually pled guilty to certain charges.
So you might be correct that nobody else would have been charged in the same circumstance. It is also possible there was concern given his political status, a stronger case was needed than what they might have pursued against a non-politician. Not because of fears of retribution - this was concluded in September of 2022, the middle of Biden’s term. Rather, political consequences would put them under greater scrutiny, and the possibility of embarrassing the DOJ with failure weighed in the mix.
But that case has been closed and no charges recommended. It’s over.
Now this much I’m very much on agreement. The naked partisanship of the Republican Party has made Trump untouchable. They have surrendered all ethics, responsibility, and credibility. Sadly, a large percentage of the population believe the lies that prop up Trump and make the Party afraid to take a stand.
But I dispute this applies equally to the Democrats. Dems have shown in practice a willingness to go after their own for wrongdoing. If Biden had done half of the things Trump did, they would have supported impeachment and found him guilty.
There is not parity between the two parties. Not since the Tea Party emerged as a faction. MAGA has made that 100 times worse. Acting as if there is parity is precisely what the Republicans want. It’s the very essence of Trump’s defense - that the democrats are just against him politically and will do anything to get him out, including lying and pursuing false criminal and civil charges.
Thai falsehood is a huge part of why Donald Trump won. Too many people bought that narrative, and wouldn’t believe the warnings about what he’s going to do - like appoint Gaetz to destroy the DOJ and federal law enforcement.
I think the law doesn’t recognize that distinction. Underage = pedophile.
(I know there are some legal variances like loopholes for some 18 and 19 year olds. Not for 30 year olds, much less older men.)
