Kelby Chichester
President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement of Rep. Matt Gaetz as his pick for attorney general has sparked controversy, including concerns from members of his own party. The choice is under scrut iny due in part to an ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving Gaetz.
Trump unveiled the decision Wednesday November 14, on his Truth Social platform, praising Gaetz as “a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney.”
Gaetz has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice,” Trump said in the post on Truth Social. “Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System.”
However, Republican senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have expressed doubts about the nomination. Murkowski dismissed it as “not a serious nomination,” while Collins admitted she was “shocked” by the decision and predicted tough questioning during Gaetz’s anticipated confirmation hearing.
Matt Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general comes with potential obstacles, including his history as a vocal critic of the U.S. Justice Department and lingering allegations of sexual misconduct. These issues are expected to surface during his confirmation process.
In March 2021, The New York Times reported that the Justice Department was investigating Gaetz for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and potentially violating federal trafficking laws. The investigation centered on claims that Gaetz paid the girl for sex and financed her travel across state lines in 2019. The allegations, first reported by the Times, were based on information from "three people briefed on the matter."
These allegations remain a point of contention and could overshadow Gaetz’s path to leading the department now probing his alleged misconduct.
According to sources that talked to The New York Times, Gaetz was linked to a broader investigation involving Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector and political ally when he was 38 years old. The Justice Department indicted Greenberg in 2020 on numerous charges, including child sex trafficking and financially supporting individuals in exchange for sexual favors.
In May 2021, Greenberg accepted a plea deal and admitted to paying women and a minor for sex, implicating other unidentified men in the process. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2022.
Throughout the investigation, Gaetz, then 38, consistently denied any involvement. While the Justice Department did not charge him, Gaetz remained under scrutiny by the U.S. House Ethics Committee for allegations of child sexual abuse and illegal drug use until his resignation earlier this week. These connections could play a key role in shaping his upcoming confirmation hearing as attorney general.
According to a report from NOTUS released in September, sealed testimony from three witnesses in the sex scandal case involving Greenberg and others allegedly placed Gaetz at a "sex party" in 2017 that included illegal drugs and a nude underaged girl.
Newly revealed federal court filings have placed Gaetz at one of the alleged parties tied to the Justice Department’s investigation, according to a Washington-based media outlet. These filings, which include sealed testimony, are the first to explicitly connect Gaetz to the rumored events following the conclusion of the DOJ investigation.
The U.S. House Ethics Committee's investigation into child sex abuse allegations against Gaetz ended once the lawyer resigned from Congress in November, Rep. Michael Guest, the Republican chair of the House Ethics Committee, told reporters.
“If he were to be appointed, then he would have to resign his position in the House so the ethics investigation at that point would cease, just like with any other member, we only have jurisdiction being the Ethics Committee, as long as a person is a member of Congress,” Guest told CNN.
As of November 21st, Gaetz has said he will not return to Congress after withdrawing his name from consideration to be Donald Trump's attorney general.
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