‘You mean leaked?’ Dem says Gaetz report might come out one way or another

A CNN anchor and the former Democratic lawmaker she was interviewing suggested Friday that the release of what was expected to be a damning ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) might be made public in a less than formal way.

The moment happened during an appearance on CNN by former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) when anchor Brianna Keiler asked if he believes the report will come out “either by the committee releasing it or someone leaking it?”

“I would not be surprised if this document were to be released to the public, if for no other reason than the Republicans on the committee thinking that this is really important, and knowing that Matt Gaetz should come nowhere close to being attorney general of the United States of America,” Jones said.

But the response from the former congressman, who served on the House ethics committee during his time in Congress, left Keiler skeptical.

“By release, you mean leaked?” she asked directly.

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“We can call it that, yeah,” Jones said with a smile.

“There’s one's official, one’s not so much. One's a little secretive,” Keiler said.

CNN political commentator Kristen Soltis Anderson warned though that a potential leak of the House Ethics Committee's investigative report, which could've emerged Friday, may ultimately backfire and clear the path for his nomination.

“Frankly, I think if the thing gets leaked, it's going to wind up giving Republicans even more ammunition to say, ‘Look, this is a hit job,’” she said, adding that the Senate has every right to investigate the matter.

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R- IL) predicted that one of two things will happen.

“I think ultimately it will be released," he said. "It will have to be, or you know, Gaetz pulls himself out of contention for attorney general."

Watch the clip below or at this link.