WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 pick for attorney general, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, was once embroiled in a by the Justice Department he's been tapped to lead, and remains under scrutiny by the over allegations including sexual misconduct.
Gaetz, a staunch Trump defender, has spent years 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, 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 it brought accusing him of and at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump, who cast himself as the victim of politically motivated prosecutions, vowed repeatedly on the campaign trail against his political enemies if returned to the White House.
It鈥檚 unlikely Gaetz would be confirmed in time to oversee special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two federal indictments against Trump 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.
In a statement Wednesday announcing his pick, Trump said Gaetz would root out 鈥渟ystemic corruption" at the Justice Department and return the department "to its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and constitution."
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gaetz wrote, 鈥淚t will be an honor to serve as President Trump鈥檚 Attorney General!鈥�
Hours before the announcement, Gaetz that there needs to be a 鈥渇ull court press against this WEAPONIZED government.鈥� He added, 鈥淎nd if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I鈥檓 ready to get going!鈥� If confirmed as attorney general, he would oversee both the FBI and the ATF, formally known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Inside a private meeting of House Republicans, the news that Trump had chosen Gaetz to lead the Justice Department sent a shock. Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho said he has a hard time believing Gaetz will be able to get through the Senate confirmation process. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she didn't believe Gaetz was a serious candidate.
Some of Gaetz鈥� allies in the House defended him as Trump鈥檚 pick, pointing to his experience as a member on the House Judiciary Committee. Asked Wednesday whether she thinks Gaetz could be confirmed, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a fellow Florida Republican, told reporters that many will try to 鈥渟mear him,鈥� but 鈥渢he evidence will speak for itself.鈥�
The federal sex trafficking investigation that began under Attorney General Bill Barr during Trump's first term focused on allegations that Gaetz and paid underage girls and escorts or offered them gifts in exchange for sex.
Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Florida鈥檚 Seminole County, admitted as part of a with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. in late 2022 to 11 years in prison.
Federal investigators scrutinized a trip that Gaetz took to the Bahamas with a group of women and a doctor who donated to his campaign, and whether the women were paid or received gifts to have sex with the men, according to people familiar with the matter who were not allowed to publicly discuss the investigation. Prosecutors also investigated whether Gaetz and his associates tried to secure government jobs for some of the women, and scrutinized Gaetz鈥檚 connections to the , including whether his associates sought to influence legislation Gaetz sponsored, the people have said.
Gaetz remains under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that he was part of a scheme that led to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl.
The committee its review of Gaetz in April 2021, deferred its work in response to a Justice Department request, and renewed its work shortly after Gaetz that the Justice Department had ended a sex trafficking investigation.
Over the summer, the committee provided an unusual public update into its long-running investigation, saying its review now includes whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. Gaetz has categorically denied all the allegations before the committee.
Rep. Michael Guest, the Republican chair of the House Ethics Committee, told The Associated Press that Gaetz's nomination does not change the panel鈥檚 ongoing probe. But if Gaetz is confirmed for the cabinet position, the committee will no longer have jurisdiction to continue its probe or release its report, he said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to rush this investigation because of the appointment," Guest said. "And so we鈥檙e going to again follow the rules and the procedures that we set in place.鈥�
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Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Eric Tucker, Lisa Mascaro, Michael Balsamo and Stephen Groves contributed from Washington.
Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press
