Rep. Steve Cohen Claims Matt Gaetz Made ‘Shocking’ Statements To Him as a Freshman: ‘Consistent with What He’s Been Charged With’
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) claimed that Matt Gaetz made “amazing and shocking” comments to him when he first came to Congress, which were “consistent” with recent accusations against President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general.
The House ethics committee is expected to vote on Wednesday on whether to release a report on an investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct by Gaetz. The committee announced they were investigating claims that Gaetz “may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift.” Gaetz has denied all accusations.
On Wednesday’s CNN This Morning, Cohen told Kasie Hunt it would be an “injustice” for the ethics report not to be released.
“The ethics committee needs to be strong, it needs to be respected, and that would happen if this was released,” Cohen said.
Hunt pushed Cohen about the accusation that Gaetz has made certain boasts to his fellow lawmakers. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) told CNN in 2023 that Gaetz had shown videos of himself having sex to fellow lawmakers.
Mullin said at the time:
“There’s a reason why no one in the conference came and defended him – because we had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor that all of us had walked away, of the girls he had slept with.
He bragged about how he would crush E.D. medicine and chase it with energy drinks so he could go all night.”
Hunt asked Cohen if he had experienced similar Gaetz conversations.
“Have you seen Matt Gaetz brag about having sex, about other things that show up here?” she asked.
“He made some statements to me when he was a freshman that I found just kind of amazing and shocking, and I just had to look forward when we were in the committee room. I guess he thought he was a young guy and he was getting started, and I sponsored decriminalization of marijuana laws, and he came up to me, and he said something, and I just thought, oh my God, I can’t believe he said that to me,” Cohen said.
“Saying what?” Hunt asked.
“I’m not going to go into it, but it’s consistent with what he’s been charged with,” Cohen said.
Watch above via CNN.
