Rep. Gaetz sought Trump pardon, former White House aide testifies to Jan 6

CNN
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An aide to former President Donald Trump testified to the House Select Committee investigating January 6 that GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida sought a preemptive presidential pardon relating to a Justice Department investigation examining whether Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, a source familiar with the aide’s testimony tells CNN.

John McEntee, who served as director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in the Trump Administration, told the committee that Gaetz spoke with him about his process for seeking a pardon relating to the DOJ’s investigation in a short meeting. McEntee told the committee he could not remember if his brief meeting with Gaetz was before or after the attack on the Capitol.

Gaetz has not been charged with any crimes, and the investigation is ongoing. An associate of Gaetz, former Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty to federal charges including a count of sex trafficking of a child, after striking a plea deal with federal prosecutors for a reduced criminal case after agreeing to give “substantial assistance” to the sprawling investigation. The assistance included an agreement to testify at trials or in federal grand juries if needed and to turn over all documents that could help the federal inquiry.

Gaetz has claimed the allegations stemmed from an extortion plot against him and his family, saying in a statement to CNN in 2021 that “no part of the allegations against me are true.” His spokesman also said that Gaetz has never paid for sex, nor has he had sex with a 17-year-old as an adult.​

The new information McEntee told the select committee provides more context into Gaetz’s concern about the investigation and provides fresh insight into the specific kind of pardon Gaetz was seeking. The Justice Department has been investigating Gaetz since early 2021 over allegations involving sex trafficking and prostitution, including whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

McEntee relayed to the committee that Gaetz said at the time “they are launching an investigation into him or that there’s an investigation into him,” without mentioning the Justice Department as the entity investigating him explicitly. But when committee investigators asked McEntee if he interpreted Gaetz’s request for a pardon to be in the context of the DOJ investigation, McEntee said “I think that was the context, yes.”

McEntee also testified that Gaetz told him that “he did not do anything wrong but they are trying to make his life hell, and you know, if the president could give him a pardon, that would be great.”

The details of McEntee’s testimony were first reported by The Washington Post.

McEntee also told the committee that Gaetz shared he had asked Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows for a pardon, which the panel has already revealed in previous testimony. A spokesperson for Meadows did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson…