Never a dull moment with Trump, although one might wish for a few.
So, what about Gaetz? Is Trump’s decision to put him up for Attorney General the ultimate troll? Is it even meant to be serious, or some sort of complicated move that is a test of loyalty, or a way to get Gaetz out of the House, or what? I don’t even pretend to know, but I note the furor it has engendered even on the right.
Gaetz is an unconventional choice, to say the least. Most people think he won’t be confirmed in the Senate, and that’s certainly a good possibility, considering the thin GOP majority there and the presence of people like Collins and Murkowski.
Gaetz is nothing if not aggressive; he was one of the main drivers of the ouster of Speaker McCarthy, for example. McCarthy has said this about the nomination:
Asked for his response to Trump’s Cabinet picks so far, McCarthy told Bloomberg Television in an interview, “I think the choices are very good, except one.”
“Look, Gaetz won’t get confirmed,” he continued. “Everybody knows that.”
McCarthy, a loyal Trump ally while serving in the House, was asked why the former president would bother tapping Gaetz if he knew the Florida Republican couldn’t get confirmed.
“You can talk to [the] president, but it’s a good deflection from others, but it also gives …” McCarthy responded, cutting himself off. “I’ll let it stand at that.”
Pressed again for some insight into Trump’s thought process, McCarthy said, “You’d have to ask the president, but Gaetz couldn’t win in a Republican conference, so it doesn’t matter.”
And then there’s Fetterman, who called it a “God-tier kind of trolling just to trigger a meltdown.”
The DOJ had previously subjected Gaetz to a 2-years-long investigation, which was finally closed in 2023 because of witness unreliability [emphasis mine]:
The investigation stemmed from allegations that the congressman had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, with the DOJ looking into if Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws in paying for her to travel with him, including across state lines.
The probe was part of a larger investigation into Gaetz’s ally and former Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to six federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a minor, identity theft and wire fraud.
Greenberg was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December. He agreed to cooperate with the DOJ’s investigation as part of his plea agreement.
But the investigation into Gaetz hit a roadblock over concerns about the credibility of two witnesses, one of whom was Greenberg. Career attorneys reportedly recommended to the DOJ in September that the department not charge Gaetz based on those witness credibility issues.
Prosecutors were also worried that testimony from the girl with whom Gaetz allegedly had the relationship would not stand up in front of a jury.
In other words, they offered something to Greenberg if he’d implicate Gaetz, and his testimony (and the girl’s) ended up being too shaky to hold up in court. You can draw your own conclusions about Gaetz’s guilt, but I say it’s most likely they tried to frame him. I doubt there’s much love lost between Gaetz and the DOJ which, as AG, he would be in the position of running.
There’s also a House investigation:
The House Ethics Committee was investigating whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other allegations. With Gaetz’s resignation from the lower chamber, the panel no longer has jurisdiction but could still vote to release the report.
Yes, Gaetz resigned from the House yesterday, ostensibly to start the ball rolling on DeSantis appointing his replacement so that the House majority is protected. This may or may not have been the reason.
My gut feeling is that this is certainly not a simple matter, and that both Trump and Gaetz may be playing a more complicated game. I think it presents Senate GOP members with a real dilemma, as well.
But let’s for a moment say that Gaetz is confirmed as AG. I think it would be a scorched earth policy at the DOJ, which is richly deserved for the agency’s behavior under Garland. It’s not as though the DOJ has any reputation to defend.