Trump Says Gaetz Never Asked Him for Pardon
“Congressman Matt Gaetz has never asked me for a pardon,” Trump said in a statement.
“It must be remembered that he has totally denied the accusations against him,” he added.
Citing two anonymous sources, the New York Times claimed in a recent report that Gaetz asked the White House for preemptive pardons for himself and others.
A spokesperson for Gaetz said that the sources were conflating Gaetz’s public call last year for Trump to pardon a slew of people.
“Entry-level political operatives have conflated a pardon call from Representative Gaetz where he called for President Trump to pardon ‘everyone from himself, to his administration, to Joe Exotic’ with these false and increasingly bizarre, partisan allegations against him,” the spokesman said. “Those comments have been on the record for some time, and President Trump even retweeted the congressman, who tweeted them out himself.”
5 things to know about the Matt Gaetz drama
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, a prominent conservative in Congress and a close ally of former President Trump, is being investigated as a part of a federal sex-trafficking inquiry involving a 17-year-old girl, according to people familiar with the case.
The congressman alleges the investigation is part of an extortion scheme. He links it to an overture to his family from GOP Florida operatives seeking $25 million to fund the rescue of an FBI agent who disappeared in Iran more than a decade ago and is widely believed to be dead.
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One of the operatives, Bob Kent, admitted in a radio interview this week that he told Gaetz’s father, former Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, that he was aware the congressman was facing legal troubles and that funding the rescue plot could help burnish Matt Gaetz’s reputation, but he said he had nothing to do with the investigation. Kent claims to have evidence that the FBI agent, Robert Levi
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New York Times piece claimed that “In the final weeks of Mr. Trump’s term, Mr. Gaetz sought something in return” for his loyalty to the president during his term. “He privately asked the White House for blanket pre-emptive pardons for himself and unidentified congressional allies for any crimes they may have committed, according to two people told of the discussions.”
The latest claim comes as the allegations against Gaetz appear to be falling apart.
On Monday, Bob Kent, one of the men allegedly involved in the scheme to extort money from Gaetz, admitted asking the congressman’s father for $25 million, but insists it wasn’t a shakedown. However, according to a report from the