Lindsey Graham Is Giving His Colleagues A New Line To Defend Gaetz: ‘Unverified Allegations’

Now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Vice President-elect JD Vance were making the rounds on Capitol Hill Wednesday, meeting with Senate Republicans who, understandably, seem to be struggling to suppress their gag reflex when considering Gaetz’s attorney general nomination.

Their meeting with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was (it appears) a particular success for the incoming Trump administration. The longtime Donald Trump defender and South Carolina senator came out of that meeting with a new talking point for his colleagues to latch onto, if they so choose: the allegations against Gaetz are unproven, regardless of what is in the House Ethics Committee’s report.

“I fear the process surrounding the Gaetz nomination is turning into an angry mob, and unverified allegations are being treated as if they are true. I have seen this movie before,” Graham, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement following the meeting.

“After years of being investigated by the Department of Justice, no charges were brought against Matt Gaetz. This is something we should all remember,” Graham said. “I would also urge my colleagues to go back to a time-tested process, receive relevant information, and give the nominee a chance to make their case as to why they should be confirmed. This standard — which I have long adhered to — has served the Senate and country well.”

“This process will not be a rubber stamp nor will it be driven by a lynch mob,” he concluded.

Some of Graham’s colleagues, who have hesitations about said “rubber stamp” on Gaetz in the face of the numerous allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use surrounding Trump’s attorney general pick, have been pushing the idea to reporters that they want to see the House Ethics panel’s report on its years-long inquiry into Gaetz before making any decisions.

The House Ethics Committee today made it known that its members are still split on releasing the report publicly, after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) warned members of his conference against such a move. The panel is reportedly evenly split among Democrats and Republicans.

The waiting game around the report is largely giving Senate Republicans something to hide behind as they wrestle with their own consciences and contemplate and/or avoid contemplating the allegations against Gaetz — which have been public for years at this point, and which are daily inflamed by new details about such things as Venmo payments.

The new talking point from Graham just gives them further cover to do the same. In an echo of the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Graham is seemingly advising his colleagues to follow a familiar playbook: no matter what is in the House Ethics panel’s report, the allegations of sexual misconduct — in Gaetz’s case, sex with a 17-year-old girl, among other heinous accusations — are still “unverified.”