It was revealed in 2021 that Matt Gaetz sought a preemptive pardon from then-President Donald Trump, but the Florida Republican is denying that now.
I have questions. Why did it take Matt so long to deny the accusations? And Lordy, there's a tape. In 2019, when Roger Stone was preparing to go to trial, he complained to Gaetz, saying that he was being pressured by the feds to incriminate Trump. Gaetz assured Stone that "the boss" would probably pardon him.
MSNBC's Ari Melber took him to task, and he brought the receipts.
Melber asked why Gaetz sought a pardon.
"What I've suggested is there were various groups of people President Trump was considering pardoning for a variety of reasons, and I was involved in a number of pardons, some like the Blackwater four," Gaetz said. "Some went a different direction, like Joe Exotic. But in that particular discussion, there was nothing emerged where anyone sought a pardon."
"We'll do both, but just to be clear, you're denying you sought a pardon for yourself?" Melber asked.
"Yes, that's correct," Gaetz replied.
That's when Melber played a video of people in Trump's orbit under oath who said he wanted a subpoena.
"The question is, can you really say all of them are committing perjury, lying on you, A. And B, if a pardon was requested, why not tell us what were you worried about? What was it you thought others might be indicted for?" Melber asked.
"Cassidy Hutchinson is a known liar," Gaetz falsely said. "There's testimony she's given that directly results in perjury, so I would certainly take exception with her testimony. I do not remember it the same way Eric Hirschmann does. I did have conversations with him about a group of people that could receive pardons, even including some of the people who may have committed a technical violation of law but weren't engaged in the violence on Jan. 6th."
"I had a lot of conversations with [Johnny] McEntee about pardons for lawmakers," he added. "Whether or not lawmakers fell in those groups was discussed. But in terms of was I asking for something specifically for me? The answer is no."
And no one believes that. No one. Not even Rapey McForehead.
