Politics
Matt Gaetz ‘begged Trump for pre-emptive presidential pardon AFTER Justice Dept opened sex trafficking probe’
FLORIDA Representative Matt Gaetz privately sought a blanket pre-emptive pardon during the final weeks of President Trump’s administration, according to a new report.
Gaetz, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump during his presidency, is reportedly the subject of a federal sex-trafficking investigation.
Rep. Matt Gaetz reportedly asked the White House for a pre-emptive pardon during the final weeks of the Trump administration[/caption]
Gaetz, of Florida, was a vocal supporter fo President Trump during his term in the White House[/caption]
According to The New York Times, which citied two people with knowledge of the discussions, Gaetz privately asked the White House for blanket pre-emptive pardons for himself and unidentified congressional allies for any crimes they may have committed.
During Trump’s term in the White House, Gaetz pledged his loyalty to the president, singing a letter to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Price.
At the end of Trump’s term, Gaetz also publicly called for broad pardons from Trump, which, he said, would stop the “bloodlust” of their political opponents.
By that time, the Justice Department had started question Gaetz’s associated about his conduct, such as whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and violated sex trafficking laws, according to reports.
TRUMP ALLY
It is unclear whether the White House or Gaetz knew about the inquiry around the time the Florida Representative allegedly sought pardons.
The Times report added that Gaetz’s request was communicated to a Trump aid – and it was also unclear if Gaetz requested the pardon directly from Trump himself.
In the final months of his presidency, Trump pardoned dozens of allies in a move that many believed was a means of taking aim at the criminal justice system.
A Gaetz spokesman told the Times: “Entry-level political operatives have conflated a pardon call from Representative Gaetz — where he called for President Trump to pardon ‘everyone from himself, to his administration, to Joe Exotic’ — with these false and increasingly bizarre, partisan allegations against him.
During his final months, Trump pardoned dozens of individuals, which critics said was an attack on the criminal justice system[/caption]
“Those comments have been on the record for some time, and President Trump even retweeted the congressman, who tweeted them out himself.”
In an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson last week, Gaetz said he “is not seeking a pardon.”
Reports have also emerged that Gaetz allegedly showed colleagues nude photos of women he claims to have slept with.
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Gaetz had denied all allegations made against him – including taking illegal drugs and paying women for sex – and maintain that he is part of a smear campaign against him by his political opponents.
Gaetz wrote in an editorial published Monday in the Washington Examiner: “Washington scandal cycles are predictable, and sex is especially potent in politics.
“Let me first remind everyone that I am a representative in Congress, not a monk, and certainly not a criminal.”
Gaetz, pictured with his fiance Ginger Luckey, 26, is reportedly part of a sex trafficking investigation[/caption]
