Matt Gaetz declined appointment as Attorney General

(CNN)- Former representative of Florida Matt Gaetz published this Thursday in X that he is refusing his candidacy as Secretary of Justice.

“I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday. I appreciate your thoughtful comments and the incredible support from so many people. “While momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly distracting from the important work of the Trump/Vance transition,” Gaetz wrote.

“There is no time to waste in an unnecessarily protracted melee in Washington, which is why I will be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s Justice Department should be ready from day one.

On his part, President-elect Donald Trump reacted to his candidate’s decision to withdraw from consideration for a Cabinet post.

“I greatly appreciate Matt Gaetz’s recent efforts to seek confirmation to become Attorney General. He was doing very well, but at the same time, he did not want to divert the attention of the administration, for which he has great respect. “Matt has a great future ahead of him and I look forward to seeing all the great things he does,” she posted.

Donald Trump and members of his transition team were informed that Matt Gaetz would withdraw his name before being considered for attorney general, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The source noted that there was a perception that more damaging information was coming to light from the ethics report and that members of Gaetz’s class learned that there may be witnesses who were interviewed by the committee who were previously unknown.

Multiple sources also said that although Gaetz’s meetings with Republican senators yesterday were not negative, it was clear there were a lot of ‘no’s’ from senators, and information coming from the ethics report would likely be impossible to confirm.

Although Trump was fully committed to Gaetz and believed he was the right person to “destabilize” the Justice Department, as one Trump adviser described it, many of the aides and advisers who helped with the transition were dismayed by this. There were serious doubts about whether Gaetz could make it through the hearings. The confirmation process, two sources familiar with the discussions told CNN. Those doubts were shared directly with Trump.

Sources briefed on Gaetz and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance’s meetings with Republican senators on Wednesday said they thought members were keeping an open mind about Gaetz, but there was clear concern in the Senate about his What may still happen regarding the allegations against him.

Democrats were pushing for the disclosure of the House Ethics Committee report detailing their investigation into Gaetz, including allegations of sexual misconduct and other alleged crimes, after Republicans on the panel voted Wednesday not to publish the results of the research. Had voted.

Gaetz has vigorously denied the allegations investigated by the Justice Department and the committee, including claims that he had sexual relations with a woman in 2017 when she was a minor.

Sources familiar with her testimony said the woman told the Ethics Committee that she had two sexual encounters with Gaetz at a party in 2017, when she was 17, CNN reported Thursday. She testified that the second sexual encounter, not previously reported, also involved another adult woman. He also testified about both sexual encounters in a civil deposition as part of a related lawsuit, sources said.

After being asked for comment for the CNN story, Gaetz announced his withdrawal as Trump’s nominee for Attorney General.