Congress

Matt Gaetz feels the heat

Published

2 years ago

November 18, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump is dead serious about making him attorney general. Speaker Mike Johnson is pledging to bury a critical House Ethics Committee report into his alleged personal misconduct. But expect this to be a very uncomfortable week for former Rep. Matt Gaetz all the same.

There is new pressure to publicize details from investigations centering on allegations of underage sex and drug use by the Florida Republican as a potentially tawdry and dramatic confirmation battle takes shape.

First off: An attorney representing two women who testified to both federal and House Ethics investigators about Gaetz’s alleged misdeeds is coming forward with new details about what his clients told investigators. Lawyer Joel Leppard is set to do multiple network TV interviews Monday as he pushes for the release of the House Ethics report, and he gave Playbook a sneak preview last night:

— His clients, he said, told investigators they attended more than five and as many as 10 “sex parties” with Gaetz between the summer of 2017 and the end of 2018, during his first term in the House. At those parties, they testified, there were “group sex situations” and illegal drugs were present.

— One of Leppard’s clients told investigators she witnessed Gaetz “having sex with her friend,” who was underage at the time, against what she recalled as some sort of game table, according to Leppard.

Gaetz has strenuously and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. The federal investigation that Leppard’s clients participated in ended without charges against Gaetz, according to his lawyers and Justice Department officials.

But Leppard — and many on Capitol Hill — believe that a lack of criminal indictment is a much lower bar than a prospective attorney general should be meeting, and they are looking to the as-yet unpublished House Ethics report to provide further details. Leppard said his media blitz is aimed at protecting his unnamed clients, who have not ruled out coming forward in the future

“Ultimately, I hope it puts a lot of pressure on the panel to release the report,” he said. “My clients have already been through this several times and they really, really do not want to testify again, especially not on the floor of the Senate.”

Asked about the allegations, a spokesperson for the AG-designate made reference to the current AG: “Merrick Garland’s DOJ cleared Matt Gaetz and didn’t charge him. Are you alleging Garland is part of a cover up?”

Meanwhile, the Democrats charged with vetting Trump’s nominees are privately exploring how to gather more information on the sexual misconduct allegations that are bearing down on both Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for Defense secretary who is alleged to have paid a settlement to a woman who accused him of sexual assault. (Like Gaetz, Hegseth has strongly denied wrongdoing.)

Importantly, Democrats are discussing what they can do now, while they hold the committee gavels and subpoena power that they will give up when the new Congress gets underway in January.

On the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic members have discussed requesting the FBI file on Gaetz, which could include records of any interviews conducted as part of the now-closed investigation. They’re likely to do so before the end of the year, knowing Trump could order those materials to be withheld once he assumes office.

They’re also considering making contact with the attorney of the woman who told the House Ethics Committee that Gaetz had sex with her when she was a minor. That lawyer, John Clune, called for the report to be released “immediately” last week.

Public hearings aren’t under consideration at the moment, but Democrats say that behind-the-scenes conversations with the women’s representatives — or possibly interviews with women themselves — could serve as preparation for confirmation season should the GOP circle the wagons around Trump’s nominees.

Even in the minority, Democrats will get the right to call witnesses during confirmation hearings, and they are discussing the possibility of calling the women to testify if they are willing.

“We ought to be marshaling all of the objective and relevant evidence necessary to assess the confidence, character and moral compass of each nominee,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), who sits on the Judiciary and Armed Services panels. “And if those materials are denied, or concealed, and if witnesses with relevant information are willing to come forward, they should be given an opportunity to do so.”

That, Blumenthal added, includes the woman who accused Hegseth of sexual assault and subsequently signed a nondisclosure agreement.

“A private agreement on nondisclosure should be preempted by an Armed Services hearing on the confirmation of a nominee,” he said. “And we would expect any nominee to waive any rights under nondisclosure.”

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Congress

How Talarico is countering Trump’s midterms convention

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

James Talarico is planning to counterprogram President Donald Trump’s GOP midterms convention in Dallas with a focus on affordability.

The idea from the Texas Democratic Senate candidate and seminarian: host a statewide “Love Thy Neighbor” food drive to offer a contrast with Republicans coming to town and highlight the high cost of groceries, according to plans shared first with Blue Light News.

“Next week, billionaire mega-donors and their puppet politicians will gather at a convention in Dallas to clink champagne glasses and toast their own corruption. They’re paying $20,000 for entry to a Billionaire Ball celebrating corrupt tariffs, billionaire tax breaks, and a new forever war that are all driving grocery costs through the roof,” Talarico said in a statement to Blue Light News. “We’ll be doing something different. We’re bringing Republicans, Democrats, and Independents together to collect groceries for our neighbors who have been screwed over by corrupt politicians.”

The campaign said it will “mobilize volunteers to collect, sort, and donate groceries for middle class Texans struggling with the high price of groceries.” The event will last from Sunday, Sept. 6 through Wednesday, Sept. 9 — the same day the GOP convention kicks off.

Talarico is also expected to field media interviews in a large warehouse near the convention.

“Texans across the political spectrum will come together to build community, show up for their neighbors, and take power back for working people,” the campaign said in a statement.

A recent poll conducted by Texas Public Opinion Research poll released last week showed Talarico leading ,his opponent Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, 48 percent to 42 percent.

Trump this week said he would campaign for Paxton soon.

Congress

‘I don’t think anyone is really comfortable’: Democrat leading on AI raises alarms at Trump, Zuckerberg call

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

A House Democrat trying to lead her party on artificial intelligence policy sent a warning shot Friday to tech CEOs trying to undermine efforts to regulate the fast-growing technology.

In an interview, Rep. Lori Trahan raised alarm bells over a POLITICO report detailing attempts by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to personally discourage President Donald Trump from moving ahead with plans to establish an independent AI regulator modeled after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA.

“I don’t think anyone is really comfortable when they see tech executives who are sitting on the stage at the president’s inauguration, and have had to pay millions of dollars to this fund and that fund, calling the shots,” said the Massachusetts Democrat.

Allowing Zuckerberg to call the shots on the proposed AI commission would be tantamount to “a complete abdication of Congress,” Trahan continued. She also suggested would use her perch on the House Energy and Commerce Committee to work with other Democrats to haul in industry executives like Zuckerberg to testify, should Democrats win back the House majority in the midterms.

“Congress’ job is to do oversight and to have those hearings,” she said. “And I think we would learn a lot from those hearings so that we can put pen to paper on thoughtful proposals. So yes, there have been a number of people, myself included, who have called for those hearings, and I think we’re going to continue to do that.”

Trahan is poised to be a major player in the coming weeks and months when it comes to AI, especially if Democrats prevail in the November elections and are forced to solidify a position on the subject; the party is currently all over the map.

Unlike other Democrats who have retreated to their corners to work on partisan proposals, Trahan has gone out on a limb by crossing the aisle to broker a deal on a bipartisan AI safety bill with Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) — a package that was originally met with disdain by members of both parties.

She announced this week she would opt out of a run for a place in House Democratic leadership after being widely expected to make a play in the next Congress — in part, she said, to continue working on AI issues.

But Trahan’s comments Friday illustrate the deep distrust among Democrats, herself included, over the GOP approach to AI regulation — from Republicans waffling on whether they support the proliferation of data centers to Trump’s recent call with Zuckerberg.

Her calls are consistent with left-leaning members like Rep. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat and chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, who has been at the forefront of the most aggressive proposals to crack down on top tech companies.

“The CEOs of Anthropic and OpenAI say that cutting edge AI could be as dangerous as nuclear weapons,” Casar said Thursday on X in response to the Blue Light News report. “But Trump is conspiring with billionaires for this technology to be regulated like … Hollywood movies.”

Trahan said Friday that “reasonable people can disagree on what regulatory construct we come up with” governing development and use of AI.

But, she added, “what I don’t think the American people agree with is that Mark Zuckerberg and President Trump are going to figure that out on a phone call.”

Congress

House Dem election leader’s message to states: Count faster

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Democrats’ top election leader has a message for states ahead of the midterms: count faster.

“We are, I think, nicely trying to encourage people to do their balloting as quickly as possible, and that means hiring additional staff so that it doesn’t call into question results,” Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, said in a Thursday interview with Blue Light News.

The advice is just one part of Morelle’s efforts to secure the midterm elections. He said Democrats have wargamed over 150 scenarios of how the Trump administration could attempt to interfere or complicate the November elections and its certification. He is encouraging states to have a “degree of urgency” when counting ballots to stave off Republican-led conspiracy theories about the reasons for delays.

Morelle said he is leaning on states to staff up on election officials to facilitate speedy ballot counting while emphasizing the process should still be “done properly,” “fairly” and that “we don’t want people with cast ballots not to have their ballots counted.” He is going to Los Angeles next week to deliver that message and meet with election security experts and election administrators — though he did not specify whom he is meeting with or where.

“We are trying to gently encourage people to staff up,” he said. Morelle added that if Democrats take the House majority, they’d “push for more resources for local and state administrators so they can hire additional capacity.”

Morelle has other big plans in the majority, including cracking down on dark money in politics, protecting voting rights and most notably, working on a bipartisan voter identification bill.

Asked whether he could accept some form of voter identification as part of a larger bipartisan elections package, Morelle said, “I’m personally not opposed to some form of voter ID,” adding that he has opposed multiple Republican-led proposals to tighten up identification requirements.

“I don’t know where my colleagues on the Democrat side will be, but I think voters think, ‘Okay, you show your ID for just tons of things. Is it really that much of a burden?’” he said. “And if it is, we’ll get state issued IDs or federally issued IDs to people who can’t afford it. So I do think that there’s hope for a bipartisan way forward, and I’ll be anxious to work with colleagues to do it.”