By New York Post (Politics) | Created at 2024-11-19 16:26:42 | Updated at 2024-11-21 18:53:51
2 days ago
Tesla CEO Elon Musk fired off an optimistic post Tuesday about attorney general pick and former Rep. Matt Gaetz, declaring that he will bring the “hammer of justice” against President-elect Donald Trump’s foes — even as sex trafficking allegations against the ex-Florida Republican have clouded his confirmation fight.
“Matt Gaetz has 3 critical assets that are needed for the AG role: a big brain, a spine of steel and an axe to grind,” Musk posted on X. “He is the Judge Dredd America needs to clean up a corrupt system and put powerful bad actors in prison.”
“Gaetz will be our Hammer of Justice,” the billionaire cheered.
The enthusiastic Trump ally also ripped Attorney General Merrick Garland as a “douchebag” while dismissing allegations that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old or paid women for sex in the past at drug-fueled parties, which prompted Department of Justice and House committee probes.
“As for these accusations against him, I consider them worth less than nothing. Under our laws, a man is considered innocent until proven guilty,” the X owner wrote.
“If AG Garland (an unprincipled douchebag) could have secured a conviction against Gaetz, he would have, but he knew he could not. Case closed.”
Musk, who has been at Trump’s side at Mar-a-Lago since the former president won re-election, is one of the only figures in Trump’s orbit issuing public statements about the state of affairs in West Palm Beach.
Trump is showing some hesitancy behind closed doors about whether the new Senate Republican majority will fully back Gaetz and is phoning in allies to boost support, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
But the 45th president remains publicly confident and has signaled that even if he does not get confirmed by the Senate, Gaetz has cleared a path for other Cabinet picks to get through, according to the Times.
The former Florida pol had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegations relating to paying for sex with women — at least one of whom was 17 years old.
At least two women have testified to the committee that Gaetz made Venmo payments to them for sex — and one claimed to have seen the then-congressman in flagrante delicto with her 17-year-old friend in July 2017, according to their Orlando-based attorney Joel Leppard.
When Trump tapped him as AG, he immediately resigned from the House of Representatives, potentially leaving the contents of the investigation up in the air. Gaetz has denied all wrongdoing.
Senate Democrats have demanded access to an ethics panel report on the alleged sex misconduct, and the House committee will meet Wednesday to vote on whether to release the findings.
