One of the nation’s top conservative legal organizations announced its opposition on Thursday to Matt Gaetz as attorney general, saying President-elect Trump’s nominee is “neither morally nor professionally qualified” to be confirmed. On Wednesday, Trump nominated the former U.S. representative from Florida to lead the Department of Justice, saying Gaetz is a “deeply gifted and tenacious attorney” who is a “champion of the Constitution and the Rule of Law.” Gaetz must be confirmed by the Senate.
“We must have Honesty, Integrity, and Transparency at DOJ,” Trump said. “Under Matt’s leadership, all Americans will be proud of the Department of Justice once again.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2024
But Liberty Counsel, a legal group that typically is an ally of Trump’s agenda, says Gaetz is not qualified and should withdraw. Liberty Counsel has defended religious liberty and other conservative causes before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“President-elect Donald Trump has quickly named many good choices to serve in his cabinet. But Matt Gaetz is not one of them,” said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “The nomination of Matt Gaetz as Attorney General is shocking and disappointing to those who have followed this man and the lurid scandals and serious allegations of sex parties and drugs during his tenure in the U.S. Congress.”
Gaetz resigned from Congress on Wednesday, days before the House Ethics Committee was purportedly due to release its report on him.
“The resignation of Gaetz immediately after his name surfaced for Attorney General is inexplicable except for the fact this resignation now ends the U.S. House Ethics probe,” Staver said. “Obviously, Gaetz does not want America to know the result of the Ethics investigation. Matt Gaetz has neither the experience nor the moral character to serve as the highest law enforcement officer of the United States of America. Gaetz should do President Trump and all of America a favor and withdraw his name from consideration. This will save him considerable embarrassment. America deserves better.”
As a member of the Florida House, Liberty Counsel said, Gaetz “was a regular opponent of pro-family leaders and policies.”
“He formed an alliance with LGBTQ activists and spearheaded the removal of Florida’s law prohibiting same-sex adoptions, which left faith-based adoption agencies exposed to legal challenges,” Liberty Counsel said.
Gaetz’s resignation ends an ethics probe “into his sex parties that includes allegations of paying an underage girl for sex,” Liberty Counsel said.
“Gaetz will face tough questions during any confirmation hearing and will likely not be confirmed,” Liberty Counsel said. “His immediate resignation raises serious questions as it occurred just two days before the U.S. House Ethics Committee was scheduled to vote to release what is expected to be a damaging report.”
News articles have “cataloged the serious allegations involving Gaetz, including using Venmo to pay women for sex, text messages, attending sex parties, and paying a minor for sex,” Liberty Counsel said.
“Witnesses have testified that they have seen Gaetz at these sex parties taking drugs,” Liberty Counsel said. “And his close association with former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg adds to these serious allegations. Greenberg is now serving time in prison for using his position for illegal gain and arranging sex parties for his friends, including Gaetz.
“During a speech, Gaetz delivered to a group of conservative leaders, mostly Christian, on three occasions he dropped ‘jokes’ laced with sexual innuendo,” Liberty Counsel added. “The jokes were shocking to those in attendance and were met with silence. He later admitted his sexual jokes fell flat. This is not the character of the nation’s highest law enforcement officer who is entrusted to uphold the rule of law and prosecute sex traffickers and sex crimes.”
Liberty Counsel summarized, “Matt Gaetz is neither morally nor professionally qualified to become the United States Attorney General. This is the highest law enforcement position in the country. America deserves much better.”
Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.
Liberty Counsel played a key role in a landmark Supreme Court case in 2022, where the justices unanimously ruled that Boston violated free speech rights by refusing to fly a Christian flag for a faith-based organization while permitting flags from numerous other groups. Staver delivered oral arguments before the court and represented the organization.
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Matt Gaetz
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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