Newsletter: Matt Gaetz Will Not Be Attorney General

Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration as U.S. attorney general on Thursday. The announcement came two days after American Oversight filed a motion for preliminary injunction in its lawsuit for records from the federal investigation into Gaetz for serious criminal allegations, including sex trafficking of a minor.

• “We’re pleased that our lawsuit was a key part of the public pressure that led to Matt Gaetz’s decision to withdraw from attorney general consideration,” said American Oversight interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu.
• Gaetz’s decision to remove his name from consideration is a “clear indication that public demand for information and a transparent process will remain a powerful force for holding leaders accountable,” Chukwu continued.

• After Gaetz’s announcement, Trump said that he will instead nominate his longtime ally and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who served on his legal team during his first impeachment. (Here’s a reminder of what American Oversight uncovered about Trump’s corrupt effort to coerce Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.)
• “While the Trump transition team has signaled its contempt for basic vetting and screening procedures, it is imperative that every nominee for high office is subject to an open and transparent confirmation process,” Chukwu said.

• The requested records, known as “302s,” are FBI summaries of witness interviews conducted during the reported investigation.
• Gaetz’s office announced in February that the Justice Department had closed the investigation and had not filed any charges against the congressman. 
• As attorney general, Gaetz would have been in charge of overseeing the same agencies that investigated him.
• New allegations against Gaetz emerged earlier this week when an attorney for two of the alleged victims testified that his clients were paid for sex by Gaetz. In two reported instances, Gaetz was allegedly involved with a 17-year-old girl while serving in Congress.
• Republicans in the House Ethics Committee voted Wednesday not to release the investigation report. The committee will meet again Dec. 5 for a final vote on the matter.

• The disciplinary complaint filed by the OLR outlines Gableman' s “Lack of Competence in Wisconsin's Open Records and Record Retention Laws” and references findings from American Oversight’s litigation, such as OSC’s frequent destruction of public documents — including those deemed not “helpful” to the review — and its dismal record-keeping practices. 
• Three of the other counts relate to Gableman’s conduct during another hearing in June 2022. The complaint refers to Gableman’s conduct as “disruptive behavior,” with transcripts that detail how Gableman publicly questioned the judge’s integrity and made “false, derogatory and demeaning public statements” about American Oversight’s counsel. 
• Our investigation into the partisan review showed that after more than a year, Gableman’s review had found no evidence of significant voter fraud during the 2020 election. We also revealed the influence and involvement of partisan and anti-democratic individuals and groups, several of which had actively promoted conspiracy theories about election fraud or sought to overturn the state’s 2020 results. 

On the Records

Dr. Oz’s Request for Federal Assistance with Dubious Covid-19 ‘Treatment’
This week, Trump announced Dr. Mehmet Oz as his pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Records we previously obtained shed light on Oz’s interest in a controversial drug called hydroxychloroquine that Trump promoted as a Covid-19 treatment, despite no scientific evidence supporting his claims.

• We obtained records that show Oz asked for federal assistance with obtaining the drug. In a March 2020 email Oz informed then-White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx that he was starting a trial to test the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine and that he needed supplies: “The President should sequester these medications for clinical trials like ours. Can you help us?”
• In her reply, Birx said guidelines were forthcoming on “this essential issue.” Oz then asked again about the shortage. Birx shared the CDC’s public guidance on the clinical use of hydroxychloroquine. 
• Oz replied, “Can we at least get batches of drugs for a hundred trial patients? If you don’t wish to put in writing, please call but I need guidance for my show and dozens of media interviews that I am doing tomorrow.” 

• A Turning Point USA representative emailed Bhagat from a personal account to thank him for sending his research in October 2022, and said they had passed Bhagat’s research on to Turning Point Action, an affiliate of Turning Point USA that operates Students For Trump.
• They said that Turning Point Action was “planning to use this information to target voting blocks in Arizona specifically as well as other swing districts,” and asked Bhagat to continue sharing his work.
• The records also show that Bhagat was in contact with several officials at the Heritage Foundation throughout 2022, including Stephen Moore, who in November of that year, at Bhagat’s request, introduced Bhagat to Paul Dans, who would become the director of Project 2025.

• Trump’s Defense secretary nominee has close ties to Idaho Christian nationalists (Idaho Capital Sun)
• The metamorphosis of Pete Hegseth: from critic of war crimes to defender of the accused (New York Times)
• Behind the scenes at a secretive gathering of rising MAGA donors (New York Times)
• Trump has a plan to cripple government transparency (HuffPost)
• Trump’s border czar pick supports using Texas ranch for mass deportations (Texas Tribune)
• Trump ignores transition rules. It’s a ‘hostile takeover,’ ally says. (Washington Post)
• Inside Trump’s dramatic potential plan to shake up the FBI (CNN)
• 'Beyond frustrating:' Trump-appointed judge blasts Jan. 6 possible blanket pardons (USA Today)

• The House just blessed Trump’s authoritarian playbook by passing nonprofit-killer bill (Intercept)
• Republican NC Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin challenges more than 60,000 ballots (NC Newsline)
• North Carolina elections chief wants senator to take back comment about vote manipulation (Associated Press)
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court stops 3 counties from counting undated, incorrectly dated ballots (Votebeat)
• Anti-abortion group hopes to convince RFK Jr. abortion pills are poisoning our water (Rolling Stone)
• Georgia election board majority that was praised by Trump resumes rulemaking push this week (Georgia Recorder)

• Georgia dismissed all members of maternal mortality committee after ProPublica obtained internal details of two deaths (ProPublica)
• Judge strikes down Wyoming abortion laws, including an explicit ban on pills to end pregnancy (Associated Press)
• Top MO Republican said he’d respect voters’ will. Now he’s open to changing abortion law (Kansas City Star)
• New federal lawsuit from conservative legal group challenges Illinois abortion protections (Capitol News Illinois)
• North Dakota Supreme Court considers motion to reinstate abortion ban while appeal is pending (North Dakota Monitor)

• Trump vowed to push schools to the right on gender and race. Now he can (Washington Post)
• Can Trump force schools to change their curricula? (Education Week)
• Oklahoma superintendent has no power to make schools show Trump prayer video, AG’s office says (Oklahoma Voice)
• Texas education officials to vote on use of Bible in public school curriculum (Guardian)
• Court ruling stops Louisiana from requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms for now (Associated Press)

• Citing inhumane conditions, Maxwell Frost seeks closure of Florida detention facility (Florida Phoenix)
• Sunshine Law violations by social services agency will cost Missouri $120,000 (Missouri Independent)