Trey Gowdy Warned Trump Off Gaetz as AG

One of the biggest stories of the Trump cabinet picks was the very questionable decision to name former Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as his attorney general.

Trey Gowdy, someone I very much respect, was stunned, calling Gaetz an “absurd AG pick.”

The Nomination

Trump clearly wanted to shake things up with his cabinet selections, and Gaetz clearly got everyone’s attention.

Over and above his questionable qualifications for the post, Gaetz had an Ethics Committee Investigation hanging over his head.

Gaetz tried to play chess here, resigning his seat before the committee had voted on publishing the report, since the committee would have no jurisdiction once he resigned his seat.

In the end, it did not matter because Gaetz chose to withdraw his name from consideration, citing the fact he had become too big a distraction for the incoming administration.

The Report

Gaetz had been accused of having sex with minors and prostitutes, with two witnesses coming forward to the committee, one saying she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor.

Now, this issue had been investigated by the DOJ for years, with the DOJ unable to prosecute, a fact that upset the ladies on “The View” when they were forced to read a legal disclaimer after bringing up that little tidbit.

Even so, the Ethics Committee held its own investigation, but Republicans were trying to bury it, which made no sense to me. If something was in there to hurt Gaetz, and indirectly Trump, it would get out sooner or later.

In the end, the committee voted along party lines, and the report was not released. But I stand by my stance that if Gaetz had continued, the Senate Judiciary Committee should have been able to view the report.

Absurd

Trey Gowdy has been kind of quiet as of late, but his opinion is one that I always welcome.

It turns out, Gowdy was very much on the same page with me on this. Gowdy ripped the decision to have Gaetz as the Attorney General.

He stated, “Do not use the justice system as a weapon. And the message for Republicans is, don’t do it on the other side, either, with this absurd AG pick that you just made.”

I think Gaetz can be an amazing debater, but I just don’t like him and don’t trust him because I have always thought he was more showman than legislator. I get that Trump wants to reward him for his loyalty, but being AG was not the right spot. I am sure, however, that Trump will find a home for Gaetz, especially since Gaetz has already given up a seat he was likely to hold until he decided to retire.