Representative. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) insisted Monday that he never asked Donald Trump for a full pardon, even though several Trump administration officials testified under oath that they had.
Gaetz clashed with MSNBC’s Ari Melber on “The Beat,” as the host repeatedly pressed him on the allegation. Gaetz said he has been involved in parole deals for other people but never sought one for himself.
Melber noted that several witnesses close to the Trump White House testified last year before the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol, that Gaetz is among several Republican lawmakers who have sought pardons for their involvement in then. president. Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.
“Here are some of the affidavits from Trump insiders,” Melber said, showing a video.
“We have more people. White House Chief of Staff, [Johnny McEntee], who is a Trump loyalist. Attorney Eric Herschmann. Cassidy Hutchinson, famous. They all testified under oath that she specifically asked for the pardon.”
After showing the footage, Melber continued, “So the question is, can you really say that they’re all committing perjury? A. EB, if the pardon was requested, why don’t you tell us why you were concerned? Why did you think you or others could be charged?”
Gaetz responded by disparaging Hutchinson, who was a top aide to former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, and said he remembered things differently than Herschmann.
“Cassidy Hutchinson is a known liar,” Gaetz said.
“I don’t remember as Eric Herschmann,” he added. “I have had conversations with Eric Herschmann about various groups of people who could be pardoned, including some of the people who may have technically violated federal law but were not involved in the violence of January 6th.”
When asked if he supports pardoning other lawmakers, Gaetz was vague.
“No. There has been talk of pardoning President Trump, members of his family, his allies, and possibly members of Congress could have joined that group,” he said.
The New York Times first reported in April 2021 that Gaetz, in the final weeks of the Trump administration, had privately asked the White House to pardon himself and others for any crimes he may have committed. Last June, the Jan. 6 panel released testimony from Trump insiders who supported that reporting. According to the Washington Post in September, a Trump aide, McEntee, testified that Gaetz sought a pretrial pardon in connection with a sex-trafficking investigation in which he was a target.
Prosecutors have since recommended against charging Gaetz, in part because of credibility issues with two key witnesses. His former partner Joel Greenberg was sentenced to 11 years in prison in the investigation.
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