Ari Melber Says Matt Gaetz’s Withdrawal Suggests There’s ‘Something That’s True’ in Sexual Misconduct Accusations | Video

Matt Gaetz’s decision to withdraw from consideration as Donald Trump’s attorney general might be because “what’s underneath those headlines” about sexual misconduct “is something that’s true, and it could not merely be willed away as, quote, fake news,” MSNBC’s Ari Melber said Thursday.

Co-host Nicolle Wallace agreed, and noted that the withdrawal could be about the “bad press” surrounded the potential confirmation of Gaetz, or it could be an “actual bottom” that Trump’s team has hit.

If the latter, she continued, “there is an equally disturbing police report” about Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, who was accused of sexually assaulting a colleague in Monterey, California, in October 2017.

“So if it’s about a limit, then that limit should hold and apply to both of them,” Wallace added. “If it’s about uniquely salacious and tedious and gross press and members of your own party talking about a guy who crushes ED medicine, blah, blah, blah, then maybe it’s just about bad press.”

Gaetz announced his withdrawal in a post shared on X, formerly Twitter, Thursday. “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday,” he wrote. “I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General.”

Trump has since announced he’ll nominate Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi instead.

Melber agreed with Wallace that’s important to be cautious about “how much we interpret what is happening in real time.” He added, “We always try to be that careful.”

Even if Trump is only troubled by what he considers “bad press” and reporters consider “headlines,” Melber continued, “there is still in there a line where… while he spent the better part of a campaign year attacking the press and crescendoing in the final two weeks to musing, or he would say, quote, joking, about violence against the reporters who cover his rallies, all of that vitriol is still matched by the independent and hopefully accurate, nonpartisan press mattering, because what’s underneath those headlines is something that’s true, and it could not merely be willed away as, quote, fake news.”

This week House Republicans voted to block an Ethics Committee report about sexual misconduct and drug use allegations against Gaetz, who was under federal investigation for trafficking and other allegations at the time of his nomination. The committee’s report has not been shared with the public, but on Wednesday the New York Times released a leaked document from Justice Department investigators establishing a myriad of Venmo payments between Gaetz and women allegedly hired for sex parties and other illicit behavior.

You can watch the exchange between Wallace and Melber in the video above.

The post Ari Melber Says Matt Gaetz’s Withdrawal Suggests There’s ‘Something That’s True’ in Sexual Misconduct Accusations | Video appeared first on TheWrap.