BREAKING: Matt Gaetz Withdraws His Attorney General Nomination, Trump Responds

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Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General.

“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1,” Gaetz said.

“I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America,” he added.

“I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!” President Trump said.

Per CNBC:

Gaetz’s selection had put a new spotlight on prior allegations of sexual misconduct and other impropriety that had been investigated by the Department of Justice and the House Ethics Committee.

CNN’s Paula Reid said that Gaetz’s withdrawal came less than an hour after he was contacted by the outlet for comment on its report that a woman told the ethics panel that she had had two sexual encounters with Gaetz in 2017 when she was 17 years old.

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

“Thank you President Trump!” Gaetz said.

From the Associated Press:

Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the first sign that Trump could face resistance from members of his own party to picks with eyebrow-raising backgrounds.

Gaetz’s announcement came days after an attorney for two women said that his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions beginning in 2017, when Gaetz was a Florida congressman. He resigned from the House after Trump announced he would nominate him for the Cabinet.

One of the women testified she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old at a party in Florida in 2017, according to the attorney, Joel Leppard. Leppard has said that his client testified she didn’t think Gaetz knew the girl was underage, stopped their relationship when he found out and did not resume it until after she turned 18. The age of consent in Florida is 18.

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.



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