Matt Gaetz 'probably feared' he'd be expelled when he quit Congress: former GOP colleague

An ex-Republican said Monday that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) would have likely faced expulsion from the House after it was revealed what a House Ethics Committee report into him contained.

Speaking to MSNBC, former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) was reacting to details leaked from the report into allegations of that Gaetz violated "standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress." The full report was due to be released Monday.

"Look, we can expect some embarrassing details in this report. I mean, think about it. This is why Matt Gaetz has gone to great lengths to suppress this report and resigned early from the House, and the other [Donald] Trump nominees did not resign," said Curbelo.

Also Read: 'I would love to know what’s going on': Senate GOP baffled by derailed funding bill

He recalled that this was a central issue in the ongoing battle between Gaetz and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was removed from the speaker's chair by a vote led by Gaetz.

"And the report is probably going to be so compelling in many ways that I think Gaetz probably feared that he would have been expelled from Congress," continued Curbelo. "Another reason — in addition to what [reporter] Ryan [Nobles] said as to why this is being published is because Matt Gaetz does not have a lot of friends in Congress. He made a lot of people angry."

Curbelo specifically cited dragging the House through the difficult process of removing McCarthy and holding 15 other votes to find a consensus candidate.

"So, there's not much goodwill for Gaetz in either party," the ex-congressman said.

See the comments below or at the link here.

- YouTube www.youtube.com