Donald Trump Pushes Back on Claims Regarding Gaetz Pardon

After living through the year 2020, in all of its insane and tumultuous anti-glory, it seemed unlikely that Americans would soon be taken aback by some political scandal.  After all, we did just witness one of the most unique presidencies in all of history, completely with double the impeachments, (and double the acquittals), of any other Commander in Chief…not to mention an attempted insurrection at the US Capitol.

The somewhat blasé tone of that paragraph belies the fact that none of us are far enough removed from that event to truly conjure its gravity, which furthers the point that no new scandal should be able to shock us.

And then comes this Matt Gaetz ordeal, complete with extortion, the FBI, sex trafficking, and a missing member of the military.

Now, as if we needed any further weirdness within the story, there are rumors that the embattled Congressman had asked the outgoing Trump administration for a blanket pardon.

The Don says that’s not accurate.

Former President Trump on Wednesday denied that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) directly asked him for a blanket pardon, and appeared to defend the congressman amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

“Congressman Matt Gaetz has never asked me for a pardon,” Trump said in a statement. “It must also be remembered that he has totally denied the accusations against him.”

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Gaetz asked White House officials for blanket preemptive pardons for himself and other congressional allies of Trump. The Times noted that it was not clear whether Gaetz directly addressed the matter with Trump, though aides were said to have relayed the request.

And so the plot has thickened once again, with a frightening realization still over the horizon:  This controversy is still in its infancy, and there is little doubt that there are hellacious and salacious details yet to be discovered.