acusations against him. gaetz may never have directly asked trump for a pardon, but multiple former trump administration officials tell abc news that the now embattled congressman had urged the trump white house to grant blanket preemptive pardons for trump s political allies, including gaetz himself. gaetz had even talked about the idea publicly. he should pardon everyone from himself to his administration officials to joe exotic. i think that the president ought to wield that pardon power effectively and robustly. reporter: sources familiar with the alleged request tell abc the idea was quickly dismissed inside the white house. in a statement today, a gaetz spokesperson said the congressman s public calls for mass pardons had nothing to do with the, quote, false and increasingly bizarre, partisan allegations against him. the department of justice is investigating whether gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel with him, potentially viol