President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, was once embroiled in a sex trafficking investigation by the Justice Department he’s been tapped to lead
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, was once embroiled in a sex trafficking investigation by the Justice Department he’s been tapped to lead, and has been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over allegations including sexual misconduct.
That probe effectively ended Wednesday, though, when Gaetz resigned from Congress.
Gaetz, a staunch Trump defender, has spent years enmeshed in scandals that threaten to derail his confirmation as the nation’s top federal law enforcement officer by the Republican-led Senate.
Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, and said last year that the Justice Department’s investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him.
Trump’s attorney general is expected to oversee radical changes to the Justice Department, which has been the target of Trump’s ire over two criminal cases it brought accusing him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump, who cast himself as the victim of politically motivated prosecutions, vowed repeatedly on the campaign trail to carry out retribution against his political enemies if returned to the White House.
It’s unlikely Gaetz would be confirmed in time to oversee special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two federal indictments against Trump that are both expected to wind down before the incoming president takes office. Smith is expected to leave his post before Trump takes office, but special counsels are expected to produce reports on their work that historically are made public, and it remains unclear when such a document might be released.
