We are all relishing the victory of Matt Gaetz bowing out the Attorney General nomination in the face of growing evidence of child molestation. It even inspired some giddy poetry on my part.
But when the giggling stops we need to face the question of where Gaetz goes from here. Here are some ideas that have been floated in the media.
- He could resume his seat in the House. Technically he only resigned from this (the 118th Congress). He could show up for the 119th. Alternatively, he could run in the special election for his seat. I think this unlikely because it resurrects the House Ethics Committee Report that he is obviously desperate to keep under wraps. So far he has abandoned both his House seat and his AG nomination to keep that report hidden.
- He could be appointed by DeSantis to the Senate seat vacated by Rubio. The promotion would gall many but DeSantis can do it. However, even this return to Congress bring back the ethics investigation, with the House perhaps handing over its result to the ethics committee. Further, Trump has been pushing for the seat to go Lara Trump.
- An appointment by Trump to a powerful position not requiring Senate confirmation.
I think that last one is the most likely. So the question is what that position would be? I suggest it would be a position where Gaetz can do the most damage, and most fulfill the tasks Trump wanted to make him as Attorney General to do. Once you get that last part, the answer is obvious.
Trump has already named his substitute AG for Gaetz, full MAGAist Pam Bondi. Bondi, currently Florida’s Attorney General, was already accused of conflict of interests favoring Trump when she declined to have Florida join the Trump University fraud lawsuit after receiving a large campaign donation from Trump’s Charitable Foundation. The IRS later found the donation illegal and fined Trump for the contribution.
My speculation is that Trump will have Bondi appoint Matt Gaetz to be a Special Prosecutor charged with prosecuting Trump’s enemies. Of course, that won’t be the title. Something more official sounding such as “Special Prosecutor To Ensure Equal Justice,” or “Special Prosecutor To Investigate The Weaponization of Lawfare” or some such BS, will be the title.
Trump will have a small hurdle to overcome. He got his Mar-a-Lago documents case dismissed by his toady judge Eileen Cannon on grounds Special Prosecutor Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed. However, that decision was based on Smith being appointed from completely outside the Justice Department. Trump need only ensure that Gaetz gets a low level job in DOJ first, one not requiring Senate confirmation, and then have him appointed as the special prosecutor. Trump’s “Attorney General” could then broadly define to Gaetz’s investigational scope to allow him to go after Trump’s enemies, just as he would have as Attorney General.
In a legitimate administration such a corrupt scam would never be considered. In the Trump Administration it would be business as usual.
