Pam Bondi and Matt Gaetz (AP)
Matt Gaetz hasn't accomplished much in his scandal-plagued time as a U.S. senator, but for one day at least, he seemed to have made just about everybody in Congress happy. He did that, according to a report at Axios, by stepping away from his nomination as Donald Trump's attorney general. Late yesterday afternoon, Trump named former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi to replace Gaetz.
As for Gaetz' ability to seemingly make everyone around him happy, Axios' Erin Doherty writes:
Matt Gaetz said Thursday that he is withdrawing his name from consideration for attorney general in President-elect Trump's second term.
Why it matters: The right-wing firebrand, who resigned from Congress after Trump nominated him, was one of the president-elect's most controversial Cabinet picks and his pathway to the confirmation appeared tenuous.
- It's the first setback for Trump in placing his allies in key Cabinet positions. The attorney general candidate is especially important for Trump — and he has signaled plans to overhaul the Justice Department in his second term.
Driving the news: Gaetz in a post on the social media platform X on Thursday said that, "while the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition."
The big picture: Gaetz's announcement comes one day after the House Ethics Committee — which had been investigating him over allegations of sex trafficking, corruption and drug use — voted against releasing a report of its findings.
- Gaetz resigned after Trump announced that he would nominate him for AG, raising questions about whether the House Ethics Committee report would ever be made public.
Between the lines: Trump this week had been lobbying for the embattled lawmaker, personally calling senators to urge them to confirm Gaetz, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke and Hans Nichols scooped.
- But the math for Gaetz was tight, with him able to lose just three votes to be confirmed.
- Gaetz and Vice President-elect JD Vance met with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill earlier this week to try to gin up support for the controversial nominee.
What they're saying: Trump in a post on Truth Social after the announcement said that Gaetz "was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect."
- Zoom in: Gaetz, who was also investigated by the Justice Department over sex trafficking allegations, has denied wrongdoing. The Justice Department did not bring charges against Gaetz last year.
- As for Bondi, her background is squeaky clean by Gaetzian standards, but she still brings baggage to the table. Axios reports:
President-elect Trump said Thursday he will nominate Pam Bondi for attorney general, after his previous pick, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), withdrew his name from consideration.
The big picture: The attorney general could be one of the most important roles in the second Trump White House. The president-elect has made clear his desire to have a loyalist in the nation's highest law-enforcement role to carry out his agenda, which could include investigating adversaries.
- Republican lawmakers expressed aversion and disdain for Trump's initial choice of the scandal-prone Gaetz for the nation's highest law enforcement role.
Zoom in: Bondi is a former Florida attorney general and a longtime Trump ally who led the America First Policy Institute.
- "Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
- "Then, as Florida's first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country. She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!" he added.
- "For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans - Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!"
What's next: Bondi will need at least 50 senators to get confirmed when the new administration takes office. The candidate can only afford to lose three Senate Republicans' votes.
Why it matters: The person confirmed by the Senate to be attorney general will help lead the implementation of Trump's agenda and steer any efforts to investigate — and prosecute — the president-elect's perceived enemies,
What about Bondi's baggage? Well, she has ties to Alabama, and we have written a number of posts about her activities over the years. Here are a few examples:
(1) There were reports that Bondi might face federal bribery charges over a $25,000 donation Trump made to Bondi's campaign, bringing her investigation of Trump University to a close;
(2) Trump's reluctance to release his tax returns reportedly was due to possible tax fraud related to the Bondi donation;
(3) Trump's contribution of more than $40,000 in "in-kind services" to Bondi's campaign might have violated Florida elections laws;
(4) A complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Treasury claimed Trump should be prosecuted for tax evasion and political corruption because of the donations to Bondi and former Texas AG Gregory Abbott, now the state's governor;
(5) Bondi was named chairwoman of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) as the organization was under scrutiny because
of news reports detailing how Washington lobbyists have sought to
influence state attorneys general across the country. Among Bondi's chief defenders was longtime Alabama resident (and close ally of former state AG Luther Strange -- see here, here, here, and here.) Jessica Medeiros Garrison, who was the organization's executive director at the time. "Like all national political organizations, RAGA pays for expenses for
its member attorneys general that attend meetings to help with national
fundraising," Garrison told CBS News. "RAGA does this in full compliance with
federal and state laws that regulate fundraising and political activity
for RAGA and its member attorneys general."We've seen no reports of Garrison providing CBS with documentation to support her claims.
(6) A New York Times article dated Oct. 31, 2014, reported that both candidates for New York AG thought the flow of money to the AG associations of both parties needed to be curtailed: From that article:
The political associations run by Democratic and Republican attorneys general must discontinue taking money from corporations that are targets of investigations, the two candidates for the job in New York State said at a debate Thursday night. The incumbent attorney general said he might step down from his party’s group if it did not curtail the practice.
“It is an issue that is going to come up in both of the associations,” the New York attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat, said at the debate. “I think it should be cleaned up.”
John Cahill, the Republican candidate, said he agreed that law enforcement officials, or a political association that represents them, should not be taking money from targeted companies.
“I think it is a huge problem,” said Mr. Cahill, once a top aide to former Gov. George E. Pataki. “It goes to the whole issue of how I started about the politicization of the office of the attorney general.”
The question came up in response to an article in The New York Times on Wednesday that examined the surge in lobbying and campaign contributions coming from corporations that are trying to gain access to and influence these top state law enforcement officials.
Much of this money is donated — and special access provided — to get tickets to attend retreats organized at resort hotels in spots around the United States by the Republican Attorneys General Association or the Democratic Attorneys General Association. The list of sponsors for these events routinely includes companies that are targets of continuing investigations.
For example, executives at the Michigan-based company that sells 5-Hour Energy, the highly caffeinated drink, suddenly started to donate a total of more than $245,000 to both groups in early 2013, after 33 states opened an investigation into accusations that the company was making false claims in its advertising.
Jessica Medeiros Garrison had an opportunity to comment on such issues related to her profeessional field, but she was not anxious to do so. From the story:
Jessica Medeiros Garrison, executive director of the Republican group, declined to comment Thursday about the notion of placing limits on who can donate to her organization, which has collected $11.7 million just in the first nine months of this year. The Democrats have collected $7.6 million since January 2013. A spokesman for the Democratic group could not be reached for comment.
(7) A New York Times article dated Dec. 26, 2014, reported:
In state legislatures and major professional associations, a bipartisan effort is emerging to change the way state attorneys general interact with lobbyists, campaign donors and other corporate representatives.
This month, during a closed-door meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General, officials voted to stop accepting corporate sponsorships. In Missouri, a bill has been introduced that would require the attorney general, as well as certain other state officials, to disclose within 48 hours any political contribution worth more than $500. And in Washington State, legislation is being drafted to bar attorneys general who leave office from lobbying their former colleagues for a year.
Perhaps most significant, a White House ethics lawyer in the administration of George W. Bush has asked the American Bar Association to change its national code of conduct to prohibit attorneys general from discussing continuing investigations or other official matters while participating in fund-raising events at resort destinations, as they often now do. Those measures could be adopted in individual states.
The actions follow a series of articles in The New York Times that examined how lawyers and lobbyists — from major corporations, energy companies and even plaintiffs’ law firms — have increasingly tried to influence state attorneys general.
These outside players have tried to shut down investigations, enlist the attorneys general as partners in litigation, or use their clout to try to block or strengthen regulations emerging from Washington, the investigation by The Times found.
A debate has started among state attorneys general — even those who believe that the problem is more about the perception of a possible conflict of interest than about any real conflicts — over steps that could be taken to insulate them from outside influence.
“There is a heightened awareness that people need to be very careful how and where they are raising money,” said Attorney General George Jepsen of Connecticut, who is a co-chairman of the Democratic Attorneys General Association. “There is an important dialog that has gotten started.”
The most definitive action so far was the unanimous vote by the bipartisan executive committee of the National Association of Attorneys General to stop accepting corporate donations to cover the cost of its Presidential Initiative Summit, an event, typically held annually, that focuses on emerging legal issues, such as Internet privacy. Last year, the meeting was sponsored in part by Google and Facebook — corporations that have been targeted recently in privacy investigations.
“I felt like we need to be free of the perception that was created by companies’ and corporation groups’ funding that meeting,” said Jim McPherson, the executive director of the association.
But that group is far less reliant on donations from corporations and other outside groups than the other three main associations of attorneys general: the Republican and Democratic Attorneys General Associations and the Conference of Western Attorneys General. Those groups regularly convene attorneys general at resort hotels for closed-door events with lobbyists, who make donations in exchange for greater access.
A $125,000 donation to the Republican Attorneys General Association, for example, gives a corporate representative the right to participate in a weekend retreat with the nation’s Republican attorneys general, as well as an opportunity to make special, private presentations to them. Democrats have a similar, although somewhat lower-priced, arrangement that grants big donors “a unique opportunity for focused conversation with specific A.G.s in a small setting.”
The list of companies that participated this year in closed-door events sponsored by the Republican and Democratic Attorneys General Associations, according to documents obtained by The Times, includes some that are targets of investigations or regulatory reviews. Among them are Trinity Industries, the manufacturer of guardrails that have been blamed in a series of fatal car accidents, and Comcast, which is seeking the consent of state attorneys general for a merger with Time Warner Cable.
Richard W. Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer during the Bush administration, said that these events should be considered fund-raisers, and that official business should not be discussed.
Both Bondi and Garrison were among interested parties who had opportunities to comment on these issues. But both kept their lips sealed. From The Times report:
Attorney General Pam Bondi of Florida, the newly elected president of the Republican Attorneys General Association; Attorney General Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma, its most recent president; and Jessica Medeiros Garrison, the organization’s executive director, each declined to comment.
