The president-elect Donald Trump personally pressured his party’s senators to support the controversial nomination of Matt Gaetz as attorney general, while sex scandals surrounding the former legislator are multiplying, several American media revealed this Monday.
According to cnnTrump is calling some senators directly to ask for their support, according to two sources close to the former president, who would not reveal who the president-elect is communicating with.
The portal Axios He noted that another senator he did not identify received a call from Trump, as well as Kevin Cramer, a senator from North Dakota.
He told the newspaper that Trump ‘clearly wants Matt Gaetz’ and that he believes he is “the only person who will truly have the courage and ferocity to do what needs to be done at the Department of Justice.”
Cramer affirmed that the former president (2017-2021) is “a pretty persuasive guy” and that he is not playing any political game with this nomination, which has raised eyebrows within the Republican Party itself.
According to the account Efethe pressure increases as the controversy grows around the former Florida lawmaker. This weekend it was learned that a woman had told the US Congressional Commission of Inquiry that saw Matt Gaetz having sex with a minoras Joel Leppard, the witness’s lawyer (whose identity is so far unknown), declared to several media outlets.
The alleged relationship between the 42-year-old politician and the minor took place at a party in 2017, according to Leppard.
cnn on Monday released more details of Leppard’s interview, which also states that two women testified before the Commission that they received payments for “sexual favors” from the controversial politician.
Falsely closed investigation
Gaetz, a far-right Republican Party lawmaker and loyal Trump supporter, resigned his seat last Wednesday after learning that the future president intended to appoint him as U.S. attorney general.
Following Gaetz’s abrupt departure from Congress, The commission decided to close the ongoing investigation carried out without publishing a final report.
Although the attorney general is supposed to have some independence from the president, Trump wants someone with blind loyalty to free him from criminal investigations against him, including the storming of the Capitol, and defend his policies before the courts.
Gaetz’s nomination must be ratified in the Senatewhere the Republicans hold a narrow majority of 53 seats (out of the 100 in the Upper House). If there were a tie with 50 votes for and 50 against, the deciding vote would be that of the President of the Senate, a position which will be occupied by the current senator from Ohio, JD Vance.
Still, Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could take advantage of the nominating recess, a clause in the Constitution that says the president has the authority to fill any vacancies during a period without Senate sessions.
Gaetzmember of Congress since 2017, He is considered one of the biggest agitators in the House of Representatives.member of the most radical wing of the Republicans and fully aligned with Trump. The lawmaker was previously investigated by the FBI for sex trafficking accusations involving a 17-year-old girl, but the investigations were closed last year without any charges against him.
