washington – President-elect Donald Trump’s election as attorney general, Matt GaetzHe has launched an effort to personally secure his controversial candidacy and met with the Republican Party behind closed doors on Wednesday. senators with questions about sexual harassment and other allegations against him.

While Gaetz and senators holed up near the Senate, members of the House Ethics Committee were expected to meet to discuss the findings of an investigation. long ongoing investigation from former colleagues. At least one Republican senator condemned the “lynch mob” against Gaetz; the nation’s top law enforcement officer official.

“I’m not going to justify destroying the man just because people don’t like his policies,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said as he left a special session of senators.

“He deserves a chance to make the case for why he should be attorney general,” Graham said. “No rubber stamps, no lynch mobs.”

Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley, who supports Gaetz’s candidacy, said: “If you have concerns, that’s okay. But don’t make up your mind yet. Let the man testify first.

As senators met in Strom Thurmond Hall, Hawley said Gaetz was in a “cheerful” mood.

This is the beginning of a personal initiative by Gaetz, who has long denied the claim. increasing allegations He had to be confirmed as the country’s attorney general to ensure Senate support against him. It brings with it wide-ranging proposals to rid the Justice Department of Trump’s perceived domination. “armed” their work against the president-elect, his allies, and conservatives in general.

Guided by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Gaetz’s meeting with his Senate allies was largely a strategy session; Gaetz emphasized the need for a Senate hearing where he and Trump can lay out their vision for the Justice Department.

This follows a meeting Gaetz held with the conservative House Freedom Caucus earlier in the week, whose members expressed excitement about his approach to wholesale changes, instilling a climate of trust. anxiety and terror at the DOJ.

But Gaetz is also in a race against the possibility of the release of the House Ethics Committee’s report, which would make the allegations against him public.

Also involved are attorneys involved in a civil lawsuit filed by an employee of Gaetz. I was notified this week According to attorney Joel Leppard, an unauthorized person accessed a file shared between attorneys containing unedited statements from a woman who said Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17 and a second woman who said she saw the encounter.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Ethics Committee should not have released the report since Gaetz quickly resigned his congressional seat, while some GOP senators said they wanted all the information before deciding how to vote.

Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who also met with Gaetz, said of the House Ethics Committee report: “We didn’t go into a lot of detail about what he expected to happen there, but he expressed confidence about what happened. The committee has a number of false accusations before them.”

As soon as the new Congress convenes on January 3, with Republicans in control of the majority, senators are expected to begin holding hearings on Trump’s nominees, with the vote to take place on Inauguration Day on January 20.

Gaetz, a longtime valued ally of Trump, was the star of congressional oversight hearings as conservatives railed against alleged favoritism at the Justice Department and blamed the former president for mishandling classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 law. Election before the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

But the choice of the president-elect was one of the most surprising and provocative to come in the wake of the “Me Too” era and a broad social shift against alleged inappropriate sexual behavior.

But the Senate has a long history of setting aside doubts about sexual conduct when it comes to confirming presidential nominees.

Hawley said he thought the allegations against Gaetz were not credible.