The fact that Matt Gaetz sought a pardon before Trump left office is not altogether new, but his reported motivation is. (via MaddowBlog)
, the list included some high-profile far-right Republicans who made no effort to hide their close allegiance to Team Trump.There didn’t appear to be any real doubt about whether the controversial Florida congressman had, in fact, sought post-election presidential amnesty. Former White House official Cassidy Hutchinson testified that several of the GOP lawmakers who sought pardons participated in a Dec. 21, 2020, strategy discussion about how to overturn the election. “Mr.
What was less clear is why, exactly, the Floridian made the appeal. Most of the names released by the bipartisan committee likely sought pardons because of their role in trying to overturn an American presidential election, but Gaetz, even at the time, was at the center of an entirely unrelated criminal investigation.
According to the Post’s report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, it was Johnny McEntee who told investigators that Gaetz had assured him that he’d done nothing wrong, but the congressman thought it would be “great” if Trump could give him a pardon anyway. Gaetz, according to McEntee’s testimony, had already asked then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for a pardon.
Asked by investigators if Gaetz’s request for a pardon was in the context of the Justice Department investigation into whether Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, McEntee replied, “I think that was the context, yes,” according to people familiar with the testimony who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
It’s this detail that stands out. The fact that Gaetz sought a pardon before Trump left office is not altogether new, but his specific motivation is new.
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