Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt said Thursday that President-elect Trump may be “playing 4-D chess” with former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) nomination as attorney general.
“He’s resigned from the House,” the host of “The Hugh Hewitt Show” said. “Donald Trump could be playing 4-D chess here, because Matt Gaetz wanted to end the ethics investigation in the House — they lose jurisdiction when a member resigns, so that proceeding is [closed] — but their paper isn’t [closed] and that goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
“The FBI opens a full field background investigation [into] Matt Gaetz. And, Matt Gaetz has to testify, for as long as the Senate Judiciary Committee wants, and all of that is under oath subject to the penalties of 18 U.S.C. 1001,” he added, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
Hewitt then said that if Gaetz is not truthful “during the course of that hearing, it’s a felony.”
On Wednesday, Trump announced that he selected Gaetz to serve as his attorney general in his upcoming administration if confirmed by the Senate.
“Matt is a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney, trained at the William & Mary College of Law, who has distinguished himself in Congress through his focus on achieving desperately needed reform at the Department of Justice,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Gaetz has recently been the subject of a probe by the House Ethics Committee looking into whether the former House member from Florida had taken part in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, alongside other allegations. However, Gaetz resigned from the House, practically marking the death of the probe.
Legislators like Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) have expressed interest in the committee’s report on Gaetz.
Gaetz was one of the president-elect’s strongest supporters in the House but has critics within his own party, most notably ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), whom he has publicly feuded with. Hewitt called the former speaker a “friend for 35 years” Thursday.
“I do not believe Matt Gaetz is responsible and I don’t think he should be near the fifth floor of the Department of Justice and I trust the Senate,” Hewitt said.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition team for comment.
