Donald Trump has dispatched JD Vance to Washington to shore up support for Matt Gaetz, the president-elect’s choice for attorney-general who faces accusations about his alleged sexual misconduct and drug use.
Vance, the vice-president-elect, will act as a kind of “sherpa” for Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host Trump nominated for defence secretary, according to a person familiar with the mission.
Elon Musk, Trump’s billionaire confidant, has also rushed to defend Gaetz, posting on X that the former Florida congressman had three “critical assets” needed to run the Department of Justice — “a big brain, a spine of steel and an axe to grind”.
“He is the Judge Dredd America needs to clean up a corrupt system and put powerful bad actors in prison,” Musk added in a reference to a fictional comic book character who pursues criminals in a dystopian world. “Gaetz will be our Hammer of Justice.”
The persuasion effort from Trump’s transition team comes as the House of Representatives ethics committee prepares to vote on whether to release the findings of an investigation into drug and sex allegations against Gaetz.
US media also reported on Tuesday that a hacker had downloaded documents from another civil suit against the Florida congressman.
Trump sent shockwaves through Washington last week when he selected Gaetz, a 42-year-old conservative firebrand with little legal experience, as his nominee for attorney-general.
Gaetz was under investigation by the US Department of Justice for allegedly having… Daha fazla oku
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