Geoff Bennett (00:00):
As we mentioned, President-elect Donald Trump has also nominated one of his most prominent loyalists in Congress to lead the Department of Justice. Florida congressman Matt Gaetz is the former president's pick to serve as the nation's top prosecutor.
Amna Nawaz (00:13):
He's been a longtime critic of the federal government. Here he is at a conservative conference back in 2023.
Matt Gaetz (00:21):
I don't care if it takes every second of our time and every ounce of our energy, we either get this government back on our side or we defund, and get rid of, abolish, the FBI, CDC, ATF, DOJ, every last one of them. If they do not come to heel.
Geoff Bennett (00:43):
Gaetz is well known in Washington for leading efforts to oust former Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy. He was also recently the subject of a Justice Department investigation himself as prosecutors looked into allegations of sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl and obstructing that investigation. Prosecutors declined to indict him. Gaetz was also a major supporter of Mr. Trump's efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election. NPR's Carrie Johnson covers the Department of Justice and joins us now. Thanks so much for being here. We appreciate it.
Carrie Johnson (01:15):
Thank you.
Geoff Bennett (01:16):
So this is another sign that Donald Trump is rewarding loyalty as he builds his cabinet, as is his right. Matt Gaetz, we should say though, is a polarizing figure with little prosecutorial experience. Help us understand why Donald Trump is choosing him.
Carrie Johnson (01:31):
Matt Gaetz has minimal legal credentials, Geoff, but he has a shared animus with Donald Trump against the institution of the Justice Department and the FBI. Both of these men, of course, have been subject to federal investigations. FBI investigations looked after by federal prosecutors, and they have come away radicalized in some respects about those institutions and the power they have. Donald Trump today in his statement announcing he wanted Matt Gaetz to be the Attorney General, called him tenacious and praised his relentless oversight of the Justice Department from Congress. And Trump seems to want to clean house at the Justice Department. Matt Gaetz may be the man to do that if he gets confirmed by the Senate.
Geoff Bennett (02:14):
And as we said, Gaetz has his own ethical and legal problems. The DOJ investigated him as part of a sex trafficking probe. He was not charged. There is an ongoing House Ethics investigation, though. And he was said to be so concerned, Carrie, about his legal exposure after January 6th that he asked Donald Trump for a pardon, that's according to a former Trump White House lawyer. What more should we know? Bring us up to speed.
Carrie Johnson (02:37):
Yeah, Matt Gaetz did not get that pardon. But one of the things the incoming President Donald Trump has promised is, pardons for a whole host of January 6th defendants, people who were actually charged with and convicted of crimes. It's not clear where Trump is going to want to draw the line, whether it's going to just involve nonviolent people on January 6th, or others. But Matt Gaetz seems to share a view of what happened on January 6th with the incoming President of the United States. Matt Gaetz has actually introduced legislation to support some of those defendants, and so I think he's very like-minded with Trump on that topic in particular.
Geoff Bennett (03:15):
An AG pick, as you well know, is among the most important selections a president can make. The Attorney General guides what is really the world's largest law firm. Big picture, help us understand, what does an Attorney General do? What does the DOJ do, and what could an AG Matt Gaetz, what kind of impact could he have if he's confirmed?
Carrie Johnson (03:33):
It's a huge institution, over 110,000 employees who do everything from investigate crimes against children, to cyber attacks, to potential terrorist attacks. They go after drug crimes and drug gangs, and also the head of the Justice Department is in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. It's in charge of the FBI in significant respects. An Attorney General has basically the power to set priorities about what gets investigated and what does not. And we already know Donald Trump says he wants to investigate some of his political enemies, including members of Congress and perhaps even the almost former President Joe Biden and his family.
Geoff Bennett (04:17):
Lastly, Carrie, multiple outlets are reporting that the Special Counsel, Jack Smith, plans to wind down the existing cases and that he and his team plan to resign before Donald Trump takes office. What more should we know?
Carrie Johnson (04:28):
Yeah, famously, Trump has said he wants to fire Jack Smith within two minutes or two seconds. That won't happen because Jack Smith will already be gone, as will his team. There were two ongoing criminal cases against Trump, one involving January 6th, the second involving classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Both of those are going to be unwound before the inauguration. The big question is whether Jack Smith will write a report with new details that all of us may be able to see before inauguration.
Geoff Bennett (04:53):
Because it would be up to Merrick Garland, the Attorney General, if that's made public?
Carrie Johnson (04:57):
Merrick Garland has promised to make as much public as possible. The open question is whether Jack Smith can get that report written and edited in time for that to happen.
Geoff Bennett (05:06):
Carrie Johnson, so grateful to be able to draw on your reporting and insights. Thank you.
Carrie Johnson (05:09):
Thank you so much.