Trump Responds To Reports That Matt Gaetz Asked Him For A Pardon

He finally spoke up.


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556 points

Recently, a New York Times report broke, claiming that the scandal-ridden Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz had allegedly asked former President Donald Trump for a “blanket pardon” for not only himself but also his congressional allies in the final days of Trump’s presidential term. This alleged request for a parting pardon would have come just months before multiple reports broke, telling of Gaetz’s numerous potential crimes, including sex trafficking, fake ID scams, revenge porn, and statutory rape.

We recently reported here at Political Tribune that the ex-president was staying out of the Gaetz scandal, at the advice of his aides who have reportedly been strongly urging him to just keep his mouth shut. However, it seems Donald just couldn’t stay tight-lipped any longer once news of Matt’s alleged ask for a pardon broke.

Today, former President Donald Trump broke his silence surrounding one of his staunchest supporters in Congress with one of his “official statements,” which is essentially a tweet on paper since he’s permanently banned from several social media platforms, including Twitter.

“Congressman Matt Gaetz has never asked me for a pardon,” Trump asserted in his statement, before going on to offer a what seemed like a tepid defense of one of his biggest Congressional supporters, “It must also be remembered that he has totally denied the accusations against him.”

As is pretty customary with Trump and his crowd, their own words once again appear to contradict themselves, given that back in November, Gaetz actually publically asked that then-President Trump issue blanket pardons for all of his allies, himself included, to protect them from the “bloodlust” of their political opponents.

“President Trump should pardon Michael Flynn. He should pardon the Thanksgiving turkey. He should pardon everyone from himself to his administration officials to Joe Exotic if he has to,” Gaetz told Fox News at the time.

“You see from the radical left a bloodlust that will only be quenched if they come after the people who worked so hard to animate the Trump administration with the policies and the vigor and the effectiveness that delivered for the American people.”

Ultimately, Donald Trump issued 116 pardons on his way out the door, however, none of them were preemptive (even though he did have the power to do so,) and none of them were for Matt Gaetz.

You can see Trump’s statement here:

Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0

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