This shouldn't surprise anyone given the fact that Gaetz doesn't want any serious inquires made into his own behavior as well. Accused child sex trafficker Rep. Matt Gaetz made an appearance on Michael Smerconish's show on CNN this Saturday, and was asked about an interview he did filling in as the host (yes, you read that correctly, he's now a guest host on an extremist wingnut podcast) on Steve Bannon's War Room with serial liar, newly elected Republican grifter George Santos.
SMERCONISH: I have to get to one other thing with you, Representative Santos. You were playing the role of talk show host this week, I guess, in lieu of Bannon. You asked him about the $700,000 that he gave his campaign or donated or loaned his campaign. He didn't give you answer.
Should he be able to get away with that level of nondisclosure? What is his future?
Gaetz responded by saying that the completely toothless House ethics committee should handle things, and he doesn't want to "prejudge that process." Anyone think he'd be giving that same amount of deference to a Democrat with a track record remotely resembling what we've seen from Santos?
GAETZ: Well, George Santos represents over 700,000 people in New York. And whether people like that or not, those people deserve to have members of Congress collaborating with the person who serves them, whether that's on financial issues or on public safety issues. And so, George Santos will have to go through the congressional ethics process. I don't want to prejudge that process, but I think he deserves the chance to at least make his case.
There are requirements members of Congress have to meet when it comes to the money that they donate to their own campaigns. I had to publicly disclose the real property I sold to contribute to my own campaign when I was first elected in 2016, and we'll see how that process bears out. But until then, I don't think that George Santos should be subject to shunning, because the Americans he serves deserve representation and they have real challenges, and we ought to work together to solve their challenges and meet their needs.
When Smerconish responded by pointing out that the voters weren't really aware of just who they were voting for, Gaetz responded by trying to blame the media.
GAETZ: You know what's crazy to me is that that happened in New York, of all places. Like, this wasn't --
SMERCONISH: Right.
GAETZ: -- rural Mississippi. It was the center of the media. And I think there actually were some local outlets that reported on the concerns about Santos as a candidate.
SMERCONISH: One weekly.
GAETZ: So, that was --
SMERCONISH: One weekly. Yes.
GAETZ: That was in the public sphere. It's up to the political process to resolve those things. He is a congressman. He was seated. And so, I'm going to treat him as a colleague, and he's going to have to endure the process that goes through managing the conduct of members.
SMERCONISH: My hunch is that if your margin in the House were not so thin that you and or Kevin McCarthy would have a different opinion on that issue.
Republicans haven't held Trump responsible for anything he's done. I'm not sure why Smerconish expects them to act any differently when it's a member of Congress as long as they're a Republican.
