‘Congressman, You Do Know You Are Referring To a Time When There Was Shame’: Anderson Cooper Stops Guest Who Suggested Gaetz Is Toast

CNN’s Anderson Cooper pumped the brakes when his guest sounded optimistic that Matt Gaetz will not be confirmed as attorney general.

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gaetz last week even though the former Florida congressman was investigated by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old and using illicit drugs. The committee was supposed to vote Friday on whether to release its report, but postponed the meeting after Gaetz resigned on Wednesday. Committee members will convene on Wednesday to decide how to proceed.

Appearing on Tuesday’s AC360, Cooper asked former congressman and House Ethics Committee Chair Charlie Dent (R-PA) whether he believes the committee will release its report.

“Do you think if the committee’s meeting proceeds as scheduled tomorrow that the Gaetz report will be released?” the host asked. “We should remind people the Ethics Committee is pretty unique. It’s evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.”

Dent replied that it’s unclear to him what the committee will do, but said it should release its report:

DENT: This report, I believe, does need to be released. Ordinarily, when a member of Congress resigns because of a scandal, they usually go away quietly. They go about the business of reconstructing their lives, relationships with family members, and their reputations. They don’t get elevated to the attorney general of the United States, the top law enforcement officer of the country. And… the United States Senate – as part of their official record and official duties in this confirmation process – want to see this report before they vote on this really important position.

COOPER: Congressman, you do know you are referring to a time when there was shame.

DENT: Well, yeah, I understand that, Anderson. But still, Matt Gaetz, there are ways to get this report out if the committee chooses not to send it out. A member can go to the floor of the House and make a motion essentially to have it released from the committee. And then it would be there would be a vote of the full House. And given the fact that Matt Gaetz doesn’t have a whole lot of friends in the House of Representatives, I suspect that motion would pass overwhelmingly.

Dent went on to say that the House Ethics Committee has released reports on subjects of its investigations even after they have resigned from Congress. Dent referenced the case of former Rep. Don Lukens (R-OH), who resigned from the House in 1990 after he was caught on tape discussing his sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl. The committee released its findings after Lukens quit Congress.

Watch above via CNN.