Homeland Security releases inauguration threat assessment

Ed Henry reports from Washington, D.C.

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    GettyDespite a seemingly daily string of new revelations, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) pressed ahead Thursday with his position that Rep. Matt Gaetz should retain his seats on the Armed Services and Judiciary Committees.“Matt Gaetz is the same as any American—he’s innocent until proven guilty,” McCarthy said Thursday. “There’s no charges against him yet. If a charge comes forward, that would be dealt with at that time.”Gaetz, who’s currently under federal investigation for his involvement with an alleged sex ring, also faces a probe from the House Ethics Committee for a litany of potential violations.“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds for personal use, and/or accepted a bribe/improper gratuity, or impermissible gift in violation of House rules,” the Ethics Committee wrote in a letter last week.But McCarthy continues to insist that everyone needs to “wait for the facts” before Gaetz faces any internal repercussions in Congress, even as he’s insisted that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) should be stripped of committee assignments for having repeated contact with a woman who turned out to be a Chinese government operative. Swalwell cut off contact as soon as he became aware of the situation, and there are no allegations that he broke any law.Gaetz Paid Accused Sex Trafficker, Who Then Venmo’d TeenGaetz’s situation seems far more precarious. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, he has oversight responsibilities of the very same Justice Department that is investigating him—and which he has accused of fomenting a witch hunt against him under President Joe Biden.But McCarthy ignored that question Thursday. He repeated that Gaetz was innocent until proven guilty, that he had spoken with Gaetz and the Florida Republican said he was innocent, and that he would “let the investigation take care of itself.” (Gaetz has publicly denied wrongdoing.)The GOP leader’s continued punting on Gaetz comes as his party largely settles into a circumspect stance on the allegations—unless, or until, there are more developments. Most aides believe wider calls for his resignation, or disciplinary measures like a loss of committee assignments, will only come if Gaetz is indicted.On Wednesday, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), the second-ranking House Republican, told reporters that party leadership will “of course react and take action” if “something really formal” happens with the Department of Justice probe.Matt Gaetz’s Wingman Paid Dozens of Young Women—and a 17-Year-OldMeanwhile, rank-and-file Republicans aren’t exactly circling the wagons around the embattled congressman. Most don’t like Gaetz, and the congressman himself acknowledges he has few friends on Capitol Hill. Only close MAGA allies like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have actively rallied to his defense—Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Jim Jordan (R-OH) to a lesser extent—but even fewer Republicans have tried to build pressure on him to resign. Only one Republican lawmaker, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, has called on Gaetz to leave office over the allegations, and the two very different Republicans already had an acrimonious beef. Kinzinger’s final straw with Gaetz cited The Daily Beast’s reporting on the congressman’s payments to Joel Greenberg, the Florida official said to have facilitated his access to girls and young women.Through it all, Gaetz has been defiant. At first, he claimed that the allegations he paid for underage sex were part of a sweeping extortion plot against his family. He has since moved on to framing the rapidly mounting scandal as proof the “deep state” and mainstream media are out to get him.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • The US officially designates Paul Manafort's associate Konstantin Kilimnik as a 'known Russian agent'

    The Treasury also said Kilimnik "provided the Russian Intelligence Services with sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy."

  • Netflix's 'Stranger Things' dethroned Disney's Marvel shows to become this week's top streaming series as buzz builds for season 4

    "Stranger Things" reclaimed its place as the top streaming series in the US this week as "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" surged past "WandaVision."

  • Princes William and Harry will not walk shoulder to shoulder at Duke of Edinburgh's funeral

    The Duke of Cambridge will not walk shoulder to shoulder with the Duke of Sussex at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, with the two being separated by Peter Phillips. Seemingly in recognition of ongoing tensions between them, the royal brothers will flank their older cousin as they walk in a procession behind their grandfather's coffin from the State Entrance of Windsor Castle to the West Steps of St George's Chapel on Saturday. They will be split up again when they walk to their seats in the Quire of the 15th Century church. Prince William, 38, is then expected to join the Duchess of Cambridge, 39, inside the chapel for the 3pm ceremony. Although the seating plan has not yet been announced, it is thought Prince Harry, 36, will sit next to Mr Phillips, 43, who is attending the funeral alone after separating from his wife, Autumn, in February last year. The pregnant Duchess of Sussex, 39, has not flown over on doctors' advice. Due to Government coronavirus restrictions on indoor worship, royals who do not live with each other will be seated two metres apart for the 50-minute service.

  • Ivanka Trump causes MAGA meltdown after sharing photograph getting vaccine

    Trump supporters called Ivanka a ‘disappointment’ for getting the jab

  • An Army sergeant who was filmed shoving a Black man has been charged with 3rd-degree assault

    Jonathan Pentland's social-media accounts list him as a drill sergeant at the Fort Jackson garrison, the Associated Press reported.

  • Justin Trudeau claims UK is facing ‘very serious’ third Covid wave amid Canada’s slow vaccine rollout

    Downing Street says UK’s case data ‘speaks for itself’ as infections continue to fall

  • Why officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright was charged with manslaughter, not murder

    Wright’s death led​ some ​people to​ question​ why the white police officer, who has since resigned from her job, was not charged with murder.

  • Biden called George W. Bush before he announced his Afghanistan troop withdrawal plan - but neither said whether Bush supported it

    President Joe Biden also spoke with former President Barack Obama by phone before announcing the decision.

  • Ted Cruz among six Republicans to vote down bill to end anti-Asian hate crimes

    The lawmakers voted with a majority of 92 against 6 in the Senate

  • Mom suspected in children's deaths pleads in carjacking case

    A California woman suspected of killing her three children pleaded not guilty Wednesday to carjacking during an alleged escape. Liliana Carrillo, 30, entered pleas in a Kern County courtroom to four felony counts of carjacking, attempted carjacking and auto theft. Carrillo's three children were found dead Saturday by their maternal grandmother in her apartment in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles.

  • Body found in Mississippi River is missing LSU student Kori Gauthier, officials say

    “It’s not the end result we were hoping for,” her uncle said. “But at least we ... can start the healing process.”

  • Royal Caribbean, Virgin Voyages, Disney, Carnival cancel additional sailings amid COVID-19 pandemic

    Norwegian and Carnival cancel more cruises.

  • This is America: No I don't eat pork, but yes I'd love a glass (or five) of wine. Not all Muslims practice Islam the same

    Here is a casual reminder this Ramadan not to stereotype Muslims (Translation: don't @ me if you see me stuffing my face.)

  • Matt Gaetz's girlfriend was reportedly paid $6,500 by Joel Greenberg, alleged sex ring leader

    Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector for Florida's Seminole County and accused sex trafficker who is reportedly cooperating with a federal investigation of his friend Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), made at least 150 Venmo payments to young women, including a 17-year-old, The Daily Beast reports, citing several documents detailing years of online financial transactions. Greenberg is the linchpin of an alleged sex ring, and "according to three people with knowledge of the relationship, Gaetz was among the men who tapped Greenberg to access a large network of young women." The Venmo payments, in installments of $300 to $1,000 or more, were typically labeled as being for "food" or "school," though Greenberg also wrote "ice cream," "salad," "stuff," and "ass" in some transactions, or just use emojis like the lipstick kiss, The Daily Beast reports. The documents show only one new Venmo payment from Gaetz to Greenberg, "for $300 on November 1, 2018, with the love hotel emoji in the memo field." But the documents also show Greenberg in 2017 making at least 16 Venmo payments totaling nearly $5,000 to a woman who would go on to date Gaetz (not his current fiancée), plus another $1,500 via Cash App over two days in April 2017, The Daily Beast reports. "That woman — who came to Washington, D.C., as an intern in January 2018 — has said she dated Gaetz during and after her senior year in college. Federal investigators seized Gaetz's phone in December 2020, and they took his ex-girlfriend's device shortly after." Gaetz has denied paying for sex or having sex with a 17-year-old, and the one payment he Venmo'd to Greenberg tied to the the underage girl was after she turned 18, The Daily Beast reports. That woman has recently changed all her identifying information on Venmo and apparently defriended Gaetz and two other women Greenberg paid, The Daily Beast says, and Gaetz has lost at least seven Venmo friends in the past week, since the news organization started reporting on the payments. More stories from theweek.com5 colossally funny cartoons about Biden's infrastructure planMany GOP officials still privately hope prosecutors, some other outside force will make Trump go awayJobless claims decline by nearly 200,000, reaching another pandemic low

  • Prosecution questions pathologist in Chauvin trial

    Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell launched an aggressive cross-examination, attacking a retired pathologist Dr. David Fowler's findings down the line during Derek Chauvin's trial. (Apr. 14)

  • Matt Gaetz teased a 'fight back' ad, trying to shift attention from sex-trafficking allegations by alleging that CNN is out to get him

    The ad includes hidden-camera footage produced by Project Vertias of an CNN employee discussing coverage of the congressman.

  • Rep. Liz Cheney denounces Biden's 'reckless' Afghanistan decision

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    Colton Underwood joins eight other Bachelor stars from around the world who identify as LGBTQ.

  • Dell is spinning VMware out of its IT empire in a deal worth up to $9.7 billion

    Dell said on Wednesday it would spin off its 81% stake in cloud computing software maker VMware, creating two standalone public companies.