Concern and dismay at the Department of Justice after Trump appointed Gaetz as attorney general

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump’s choice Matt Gaetz Being attorney general has many Justice Department employees reeling and worried not just about their own jobs but about the future of the agency, which Trump loyalists oppose.

Florida Republican choice for president-elect Given Gaetz’s inexperience in law enforcement and the fact that he was once a cop, it caused a shock in the Cabinet department. subject of federal sex trafficking investigation. The names of well-respected experienced attorneys have been floated as possible candidates for the job, but Gaetz’s choice has generally been interpreted as an indication of his candidacy for the job. Trump’s premium on personal loyalty and Trump’s desire to have a disruptor running this department for years she investigated and eventually blamed him.

Career attorneys in the department interviewed by The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share their feelings publicly, expressed widespread surprise, even anger, at the nomination. They mentioned that they were deluged with calls and messages from their colleagues as soon as the news broke.

Some people within the department were not even sure that Gaetz, who graduated from law school in 2007 but spent his career as a lawmaker, including in Congress, was a lawyer. As concerns grow over Gaetz’s rhetoric about going after the “deep state,” some are already looking for new jobs.

Gaetz claimed the department was “corrupt and highly political” and strongly criticized Trump and federal investigations into Trump. January 6 rebels. He also proposed abolishing the two agencies he would oversee as attorney general, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He would come to the job without the legal experience of his predecessors, including the current attorney general, Merrick Garland, who oversaw the prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombing case as a top Justice Department official before becoming a federal appeals court judge.

Trump described Gaetz as the right person to “root out systemic corruption” within the agency, end the “armed” government, and “restore Americans’ Faith and Confidence in the badly shattered Department of Justice.” Trump has not yet made a similar statement leadership change It’s at the FBI, but someone might come along given their long-standing criticism of director Christopher Wray.

“I think he was chosen to shake things up and throw a grenade at the Justice Department,” said John Fishwick Jr., a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama. “It’s a flamethrower.” That’s what Trump wants.”

Fishwick said Justice Department lawyers he has been in contact with are “concerned about what this will mean for them individually.”

But a Justice Department lawyer was less troubled by the change, saying the leadership change could be a welcome reset given what the lawyer said was “distrust from both the left and the right.” Inform the public and put federal law enforcement on the defensive.

The FBI and the Department of Justice have conducted investigations into significant matters, including classified information, in recent years. Hillary Clinton’s private email server When Democratic 2016 presidential candidate Obama becomes secretary of state and their potential ties Russia and Trump’s political campaign same year. Both were the subject of general inspections by the inspector. More recently, there was a special counsel investigation that yielded federal indictments against Trump that are now ready to be expunged.

uncertain It remains to be confirmed whether Gaetz has sufficient Republican support in the Senate. Some Republicans praised his candidacy, but some They expressed their concerns or have yet refused to say publicly whether they will support him. Trump has floated the possibility of bypassing the traditional confirmation process. He puts forward his nominees while the Senate is in recess.

Gaetz faces federal investigation sex trafficking investigation This ended with no charges. Before resigning from Parliament on Wednesday, Investigation by the House Ethics Committeewas investigating whether he had engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, accepted inappropriate gifts, and tried to obstruct government investigations into his conduct.

Speaker of the Assembly mike johnson He said he would do it on Friday “I strongly request” The House committee did not disclose the results of the investigation, and Gaetz turned away senators who requested access because he was Trump’s nominee for attorney general.

Gaetz has denied all allegations. On Friday, he posted on his former Twitter handle, X, that “lies were weaponized” to try to destroy him.

Before Trump decided to name Gaetz the nation’s top federal law enforcement official, Justice Department staffers were already preparing for a major shift in the agency’s agenda on civil rights and other issues.

It is known that Trump pays intense attention to the FBI and the Department of Justice, expects loyalty from leaders and calls for certain actions. He opposed what he saw as a politically motivated justice system because of cases filed against him by the Justice Department’s special counsel. As a candidate, he repeatedly suggested: he would want to take revenge about his perceived enemies to prosecute.

Some career lawyers leave for the private sector each time a new administration arrives, but employees say there could be a dramatic departure in the staff in the coming months.

“Who will carry out the functions of the department, career employees, people who are apolitical in business, and politics aside, if all these people are so dismayed about the attorney general election and leave?” A Ministry of Justice lawyer who plans to leave the government said:

Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor in Connecticut who is prosecuting former Gov. John Rowland, who later ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general as a Democrat, said he had “significant concern” about Gaetz about the criminal investigation he faces, the House ethics review, the potentially inadequate scrutiny of his past and his future. that the department may be run by “someone who is highly compromised” and may also have a “personal vendetta” against him.

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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.