Former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman says former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who resigned from Congress after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to be his attorney general, has “zero chance” of passing a required background check by the FBI.
Gaetz was once the subject of a sex trafficking probe by the very Justice Department he’s tapped to lead, as well as a House Ethics Committee investigation into his alleged misconduct, including charges that he used drugs like MDMA. The DOJ ultimately declined to press charges, and the House probe effectively ended when Gaetz resigned, but the firebrand Republican will still have to be vetted before securing his new job.
In an appearance on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes,” Litman denounced the nomination.
“There are tens of thousands of professionals in the Department of Justice,” he said Friday, per Mediaite. “None of them could be hired for their job if they did what Matt Gaetz is accused of doing. MDMA is a friggin’ Schedule 1 controlled substance.”
“Anyone who did that after law school would be absolutely disqualified,” Litman continued.
The ethics committee launched their 2021 probe to assess if Gaetz had engaged in sexual misconduct, used illicit drugs and obstructed government efforts to investigate him. He was specifically accused of having sex with a 17-year-old and traveling with her across state lines.
The probe was paused as the Justice Department pursued similar allegations against Gaetz until 2023, when prosecutors announced he wouldn’t face prosecution. A former associate of his was sentenced in 2022, however, for charges that included sex trafficking of a minor.
“Joel Greenberg [is] rotting in jail for the same thing Matt Gaetz did,” Litman said Friday, “What does he have on him that he can blackmail? What girls, minor or not, can come forward about their drug-fueled orgies, every single one that Matt Gaetz denies?”
Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press
“For character, for national security, there is zero, zero chance that anyone who had done that, much less what a background investigation would turn up … could even get the first step toward an appointment at the lowest professional level of the Department of Justice,” Litman said Friday.
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said Thursday that there are likely more than enough senators opposed to Gaetz’s nomination to keep it from being confirmed in the Senate. Several lawmakers have already called for the ethics committee to disclose its findings.
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Trump has since stated that he will make “recess appointments” to bypass required Senate confirmations for his nominations, potentially easing Gaetz’s path, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Friday that he will “strongly request” the House ethics report be buried.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.