Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) insisted on Friday that he never received a blanket pardon from Donald Trump even though several former Trump administration officials testified under oath that he did.
Gaetz clashed with MSNBC’s Ari Melber on “The Beat” as the host repeatedly confirmed the allegations. Gaetz said he has been involved in clemency negotiations for others, but has never sought one for himself.
Melber noted that several witnesses close to the Trump White House had testified last year to the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol that Gaetz was among several Republican lawmakers who apologized for their involvement in the President. Trump’s attempt to cancel the 2020 election.
“Here’s some sworn testimony from a Trump insider,” Melber said, bringing up a video.
“We have a lot of people. The White House presidential personnel director, [Johnny McEntee], a Trump loyalist. Attorney Eric Herschmann. Cassidy Hutchinson, famous. They all testify under oath that you ask for forgiveness.
After showing the footage, Melber continued: “So the question is, can you say that they all committed perjury, lied to you? A. And B, if you apologize, don’t you just tell them what you’re worried about? What do you think you or can someone else be charged?”
Gaetz responded by disparaging Hutchinson, who was a top aide to former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, and said he remembers things differently than Herschmann.
“Cassidy Hutchinson is a known liar,” Gaetz said.
“I don’t remember the same way as Eric Herschmann,” he said. “I had a conversation with Eric Herschmann about the different groups of people who could potentially receive a pardon — even including some people who may have technically violated federal law, but did not participate in the violence on January 6th.”
Asked if he apologized to other lawmakers, Gaetz was vague.
“Not. There are discussions about pardons for President Trump, members of his family, allies, and possibly members of Congress could fall into that group,” he said.
The New York Times first reported in April 2021 that Gaetz, in the final weeks of the Trump administration, had privately asked the White House to pardon himself and others for crimes he may have committed. In late June, the January 6 committee released testimony from a Trump insider supporting the report. According to The Washington Post in September, one of Trump’s aides, McEntee, testified that Gaetz asked for a preemptive pardon in connection with the sex-trafficking investigation that targeted him.
Prosecutors have since recommended against charging Gaetz in the matter, reportedly due to credibility issues with two central witnesses. Former associate Joel Greenberg has been sentenced to 11 years in prison in the investigation.