Multiple current and former senior Justice Department and FBI officials have begun reaching out to lawyers in anticipation of being criminally investigated by the Trump administration, according to three people with knowledge of their deliberations.
Following Trump’s decisive election victory, many Justice Department officials and career staffers were already nervous about the possibility that they would be targeted by Trump loyalists, particularly members of Congress. But the selection of former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a firebrand Trump ally who was the subject of a recent FBI investigation, to lead the department has sharply increased the sense of alarm, the sources said.
“Everything we did was aboveboard,” said a former senior FBI official who has started contacting lawyers because he expects to be prosecuted himself. “But this is a different world.”
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of becoming even more of a target, doesn’t believe any attempt to prosecute him will be successful. Judges and juries have the power to throw out cases or find defendants innocent if they deem prosecutions to be baseless.
But like many other current and former Justice Department officials, he is bracing for a potentially long and costly legal battle, as well as the possibility of protracted congressional investigations, after Trump takes office in January.
Career FBI employees are especially vulnerable, the official added. Since they make less money than they would in the private sector, they rely on the pensions they receive after 20 years.
“Agents have to do 20 years,” the former senior FBI official said. “These people don’t have options.”
A former senior Justice Department official who served during Trump’s first term said he, too, saw Gaetz’s nomination as a sign of the seriousness of the president-elect’s vow to exact revenge on those who investigated him.
“He needs to be able to control the department, which he can do through a loyal AG beholden to him,” the former Justice Department official said.
Gaetz, who was the subject of a federal sex trafficking investigation that ended without charges, “understands that he owes everything to Trump, who can protect Gaetz as well through his pardon power,” the former official added. “Trump is confident that Gaetz will do whatever Trump tells him to do.”
Trump and his supporters have consistently argued that all of the criminal investigations against him have been politically motivated, and that Justice Department and FBI officials deserve to be prosecuted.
Weeks before Election Day, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, called for the Jan. 6 charges and all federal and state criminal charges against Trump to be dropped.
Sure everything you did was above board……
Today in the news it was said there are 3 females that are ready to come forward & testify. I don’t know about Gaetz as far as what the truth is, but he is arrogant & I’ve seen him on TV and something was off. This whole thing stinks. Trump & white hats have spent years bringing down sex trafficking. I don’t think he qualifies for atty general but who am I to say? Gaetz has not been an atty; he hasn’t prosecuted any cases as an atty. That causes me pause because how can he direct those who report to him that are full fledged attorneys? Doesn’t sit right w/me. I imagine there are many on the hill that would like to see this go away. And if it comes out that he was involved in the Caribbean trip with underage girls what does that say about Trump? He’s been thru hell & I hope Gaetz doesn’t cause problems for him. I also have to wonder if Gaetz’ father, former Senator in FL, could be protecting him. I personally feel Gaetz should bow out & not cause a big problem. There has been enough lying, corruption & strife for all.
The Funny Bois of Insurrection investigated Gaetz for THREE YEARS.
They found nothing. NADDA. Don’t you think that if the snakes in the upper levels of the F__ I had something on Gaetz they would have leaked it to the Mockingbird Media??
IF they did fabricate the typical BS and lies and intended to hold him hostage via blackmail that bucket obviously did not hold water.
A better counter to what the perpetually lying Mockingbird Media, the demonrats and RINOs has squawked for years is:
I have total trust — as millions of other Patriots do — that IF there was anything substantial about the propaganda accusations President Trump would know from having his own investigations and wouldn’t risk the MAGA movement.
Basically what you said is that President Trump is incompetent.
You don’t think he learned from his first term?
I’d bet my life on that — I’m that sure.
I find it hard to understand that some above comment about this particular post re Gaetz, suspicious and critical of him, mentioning ‘ three women ready to testify’, blah blah blah.
Apparently haven’t learned a THING about the overall legacy/network media especially after the past 15 years or so! It’s an NBC hit piece.
The charges, the ‘victim women’ are their textbook routine trying to take down their threats!
With that attitude she must be a troll, ya think?