Ginger Gaetz posts cryptic picture of husband Matt after he withdrew from attorney general bid amid sex scandal
- Gaetz withdrew shortly after CNN informed him it was reporting he allegedly had a threesome with a minor and an adult
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Matt Gaetz's wife Ginger posted a cryptic picture of him one day after he stunningly withdrew his name as Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general.
The former congressman is shown in a dark suit sitting at a bar with a martini in front of him.
'Unemployment has never looked so good,' Ginger said in a post along with the picture.
On Thursday, she sent her husband heartfelt messages of support after he dropped out of contention for Trump's Cabinet after he was accused of having a threesome with a minor.
'Nobody loves America more than you,' she declared after Gaetz announced he was removing himself from consideration so as not to be a 'distraction' to the president-elect.
'The end of an era,' his spouse added alongside an image of them walking hand-in-hand on the Capitol Hill steps.
The former congressman is shown in a dark suit sitting at a bar with a martini in front of him.
'Unemployment has never looked so good,' Ginger said in a post along with the picture
Gaetz's bombshell decision paved the way for former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to become the nominee.
It also came a day after the House Ethics Committee deadlocked on releasing a report into allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use by Gaetz.
On Wednesday, Gaetz had met with Republican senators whose support he would have needed to be confirmed as attorney general.
Gaetz wrote on X: 'I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. 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's DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.'
Donald Trump said in a Truth Social statement he respected Gaetz's decision, and admitted the allegations had become a distraction.
Matt Gaetz's wife Ginger gave him heartfelt messages of support after he stunningly withdrew his name as Donald Trump's Attorney General nominee
Many senators had privately expressed concerns about whether Gaetz could be confirmed due to the ethics investigation.
Gaetz has already resigned from the House of Representatives for this term but was re-elected to the Congress that is sworn into office on January 3rd. It is unclear whether he will return as a lawmaker.
CNN said they had informed Gaetz at 11:30 a.m. they had testimony a woman gave the House Ethics Committee that she had two sexual encounters with Gaetz at one party in 2017.
The woman, who was aged 17 at the time, testified that the second sexual encounter, which had not previously been reported, included another adult woman.
CNN said they had told Gaetz the story was going live at 12:30 pm ET.
He posted on social media at 12:24 pm he was withdrawing his nomination.
'Nobody loves America more than you,' she responded on his post announcing he was removing himself from consideration, admitting the allegations against him were a 'distraction' for the president-elect
Gaetz has repeatedly denied the sexual encounters.
The adult woman has denied participating in the alleged second encounter in her testimony to the Ethics committee, CNN reported.
Gaetz only made it eight days as Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department.
Trump said he appreciated Gaetz and expected great things from him.
'I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!,' the president-elect wrote on Truth Social.
Trump had been calling senators to rally support for his nominee. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, a senator, had been taking Gaetz around the Senate the past two days to work on his confirmation.
Gaetz's wife Ginger Luckey responded to her husband's announcement with 'Nobody loves America more than you' and an emoji of hands making a heart shape.
Gaetz made his case to Trump for being named his Attorney General on Trump Force One when Trump was on his way to Washington D.C. to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House.
He is a longtime Trump loyalist and, when he nominated him, the president-elect said Gaetz 'will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.'
Ginger has stood nby Gaetz's side as the sordid allegations have been made against him
Matt Gaetz withdrew as Donald Trump's attorney general nominee
Donald Trump said he respected Matt Gaetz's decision to withdraw his nomination
The Justice Department had closed its investigation of Gaetz last year after prosecutors recommended that no criminal charges be brought against him.
However, the House Ethics Committee was wrapping up its investigation and preparing to release its report.
Members on the bipartisan panel had been investigating allegations that Trump's attorney general pick Gaetz had sex with a minor and did illegal drugs while a federal employee.
Gaetz's resignation from the 118th Congress meant he was no longer subject to the ethics panel. The panel voted Wednesday not to release the report on Gaetz.
Releasing it would break with precedent set by the panel which no longer has jurisdiction over Gaetz.
It lost that jurisdiction when he resigned from Congress one day after being tapped to be the nation's highest law enforcement official.
Still, many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have publicly called for the report to be released anyway.
Fueling those calls are recent claims by Orlando-based attorney Joel Leppard who represents two women claiming to have information on Gaetz's allegedly lurid past.
Gaetz allegedly partied, used drugs and paid women for sex repeatedly between 2017 and 2019 while serving in the House of Representatives, Leppard claims.
The bombshell allegations have been central to the House Ethics Committee investigation into the ex-lawmaker as the women have reportedly testified before the panel.
The Republican attended up to 10 'sex parties' where illegal drugs and 'group sex situations' were present, according to Leppard.
Both women represented by Leppard allege that Gaetz paid them for sex via Venmo, the attorney claims.
Gaetz paid upwards of $10,000 dollars to two women on Venmo between 2017 - 2019, ABC News reports.
'She testified [that] in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Rep. Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17,' Leppard said Monday.
One of the witnesses alleges that she saw her friends having sex with Gaetz at a party in July 2017 against a game table thought to be an air hockey table.
The unnamed witness also says that her friend was 17 years old at the time.
Matt Gaetz (left) and J.D. Vance (right) in the Senate on Wednesday for meetings
Matt Gaetz (C) and wife Ginger Luckey Gaetz talk with another guest at the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Mar-a-Lago on November 14, 2024 in Palm Beach
Gaetz was sworn-in as a member of the House of Representatives in January 2017, so all of the allegations against him come during his tenure as a federal employee.
He claimed he has done nothing wrong and that the allegations against him amount to a 'false smear.'
Gaetz also said he had never engaged in sexual activity with anyone under the age of 18 in a letter posted to his social media in September.
'The answer to this question is unequivocally NO,' he wrote. 'The lawful, consensual sexual activities of adults are not the business of Congress.'
Gaetz has also said that the Ethics Committee's actions seem to be unfairly targeting him, and he announced he would no longer comply with their investigation.
