Speaking to Rachel Maddow in her first live televised interview, former aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Cassidy Hutchinson addressed a passage in her book where she alleges Congress’s Eddie Haskell, Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, attempted to slide his way into her cabin during a Republican retreat. Asked by Maddow’s staff for a comment, the man credibly accused of child sex trafficking and current subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation responded, “I don’t remember either of those events and based on Cassidy’s prior false statements, I doubt they occurred. I did date Cassidy for a few weeks while we were both single a few years ago.” Note, however, Gaetz did not deny the accusations.
Asked for her response, Hutchinson stated after offering some niceties, “Matt Gaetz, in my opinion, is somebody I personally do not hold in high regards in terms of trust, and I do not think Matt Gaetz has the best track record for relationships and condoning, condoning his relationships, how he thinks they might be defined. I will say on behalf of myself, I never dated Matt Gaetz. I have much higher standards in men and Matt, frankly, is a very unserious politician.”