45 minutes after CNN contacted Trump’s attorney general nominee about additional sexual misconduct allegations, he was done.
Matt Gaetz speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.
(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US attorney general, today took off his name is being considered to head the Justice Department of the new administration. The decision came just 45 minutes after Gaetz, a former congressman from Florida whose candidacy drew widespread opposition amid reports of sexual misconduct. told CNN that more shocking allegations are expected.
The decision by Goetz, the most scandalous of Trump’s many controversial nominees, to resign throws the president-elect’s efforts to form a cabinet into even more chaos. Trump’s nominations for secretary of defense, secretary of health and human services, director of national intelligence and other positions are in focus rapidly developing disputes about their personal lives, ties to foreign governments and political positions.
If Goetz, Trump’s favorite, leaves, will the other nominees be forced out as well?
That question will be answered in the coming weeks and months. But any air of invincibility associated with the new administration was interrupted by the removal of the nominee for attorney general.
In Art statement of withdrawalwhich was posted on X on Thursday morning, Goetz said:
I had some great meetings with the senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation unfairly distracted from the important work of the Trump/Vance transition. There is no point in wasting time on an unnecessarily protracted fight in Washington, so I will withdraw my name from consideration for the position of Attorney General. Trump’s Justice Department should be in place and ready on day one. I remain fully committed to Donald J. Trump has become the most successful president in history. I will always be honored that President Trump has appointed me to lead the Department of Justice, and I am confident that he will save America.
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Moments after the news broke, Paula Reid, CNN’s chief legal correspondent, revealed Goetz’s announcement came less than an hour after CNN contacted Goetz’s team about a report about new, previously unknown evidence in the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Goetz’s alleged sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old minor. Although Goetz has denied the allegations, the scandal has already become a big problem for his candidacy. A CNN report regarding allegations of a “second sexual encounter” between Goetz and a minor only made matters worse. Senators from both parties have already suggested that the Senate Judiciary Committee should have access to the full Ethics Committee report. Had Gaetz not recused himself, the pressure to release the ethics report — a move opposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Republican members of the committee — would have been immense.
CNN’s Reid said news of the additional indictment was “incredibly significant” because it was “an example of the kind of information that the Ethics Committee has and the public doesn’t.” Andrew McCabe, a former deputy director of the FBI, said the new wrongdoing allegation “is a game-changer and shocks people about the seriousness of what (Goetz) is involved in.”
Now there will be widespread speculation about who Trump will nominate to replace Goetz. There will also be increased attention to new reports of alleged sexual assault by Pitt in 2017 Hegseththe candidate of the president-elect for the post of defense minister. And about accusations of personal wrongdoing, financial scandals, problematic foreign relations and other problems related to a number of Trump candidates.
The maelstrom also raises the broader question of whether Trump’s second term, which some had predicted would be marked by a new level of discipline, will actually be as chaotic as his first.
Whatever happens, Goetz’s downfall shows that journalism will play a huge role in the coming weeks and months.
Goetz associates may speculate that the nominee’s decision to withdraw was not just a news report. It may be so. But given the timing, it’s hard to argue that CNN’s exposé didn’t play a decisive role in destroying the president-elect’s most senior cabinet pick.
This gives us a clearer picture of how the system of checks and balances actually works.
The formation of any new administration happens quickly. Members of the Senate, who must advise and consent to cabinet selections, rely on information from many sources in determining whether to approve or reject nominations. Trump has made it clear he wants to turn the process around, ditching traditional background checks and pressuring the Senate to allow him to do so-called “break dates” candidates not approved by the Senate. Under such circumstances, investigative reporting, as well as constant reporting by beat reporters covering the Cabinet and Congress, becomes even more important.
Unfortunately, the American media is experiencing its share of upheaval as television stations and newspapers face financial problems and fight to be heard amidst the cacophony of social media. However, today we see clear evidence that old-school reporting and the willingness to speak truth to power in a new administration are more important than ever.
This will not please the president-elect.
Trump has sent many alarming signals about press freedom. While he recently said he felt “an obligation to the American public and to our country itself to be open and available to the press,” Trump also threatened that “if (he) is not treated fairly, it will be the end”. The statement prompted Poynter Institute senior reporter Tom Jones to observe“So, in other words, Trump is a supporter of a free and open press as long as he agrees with the coverage. Which, of course, is not a free and open press.”
Even more troubling is Trump’s new crusade to get the Senate to block the Reporters Protection from Government Espionage (PRESS) Act, a proposal to protect journalists from pressure to reveal their sources — and threats to confiscate their data — that already was unanimously approved by the US House of Representatives. Trump took to Truth Social this week to challenge the PRESS Act, saying: “REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!»
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“It is very important that we have a federal law to protect journalists at the federal level,” says Jodi Ginsberg, Director General of the Committee to Protect Journalists. “We know that Trump is interested in prosecuting whistleblowers, people who write information. And it is very important that they are protected… and that journalists are allowed to do their work.”
We cannot retreat
We now face a second Trump presidency.
There is nothing to lose. We must use our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger to oppose the dangerous policies that Donald Trump is unleashing on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as principled and honest journalists and authors.
Today we are also preparing for the future struggle. It will require a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis and humane resistance. We are faced with the passage of Project 2025, a far-right Supreme Court, political authoritarianism, rising inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis and conflicts abroad. Nation will expose and propose, develop investigative reporting and act together as a community to preserve hope and opportunity. NationThe work will continue — as it has in good times and bad — to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and in-depth reporting, and to expand solidarity in a divided nation.
Armed with 160 years of courageous independent journalism, our mandate remains the same today as it was when the Abolitionists were founded Nation— to defend the principles of democracy and freedom, to serve as a beacon in the darkest days of resistance, and to see and fight for a bright future.
The day is dark, the forces are building tenaciously, but it’s too late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is just the time when artists go to work. No time for despair, no room for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we make language. This is how civilizations heal.”
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Katrina Vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, Nation
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