Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) appeared on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber, where Melber was ready to for his lies about seeking a pardon.
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Melber asked, “Just to be clear you’re denying you sought a pardon for yourself?”
Gaetz answered, “Yes, that is correct.”
Melber then played portions of the testimony from three 1/6 Committee witnesses that Gaetz sought a pardon from Trump, and said, “Here’s some of the under oath testimony from Trump insiders, and I know you maintained a strong relationship with Donald Trump, but basically we’ve got multiple people, the director of White House personnel, Trump loyalist, lawyer Eric Hirschmann, Cassidy Hutchinson, call testified under oath that you specifically requested a pardon.”
Melber then asked, “I want to give you the benefit of responding but also want to take this process seriously. You have individuals who are not known to be coordinating in any way. They all have their own counsel. They have an incredible legal liability if they lied about this, and multiple individuals, all of whom by the way, Republican appointees are testifying in that period after that December meeting, you, sir, requested a pardon for yourself and other attendees at the meeting. 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 other might be indicted for?”
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Cassidy Hutchinson is a known liar. 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 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 engage in the violence January 6th.”
Gaetz later admitted that he tried to get pardons for Trump, Trump’s family, and some members of Congress, “There were discussions about President trump, his family members and allies, and presumably members of congress could have fallen in that group.”
Ari Melber demonstrated why the vast majority of Republican members of Congress won’t leave the Fox News/conservative media bubble. It made for interesting and revealing television to see Gaetz being interviewed on MSNBC and being asked questions that are backed up with facts and evidence.
Most House Republicans won’t go near MSNBC, so it was nice to Rep. Gaetz show up and take the questions.
Melber was respectful and allowed Gaetz to speak, but he came prepared with tough questions and facts to back them up.
It is good for the country when elected officials step out of their comfort zone and take questions that aren’t friendly softballs.
Ari Melber didn’t change his style, and Matt Gaetz didn’t change his, and the result was far from Gaetz is used to getting from Newsmax and Fox News.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
