An Authoritarian Justice Department?

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Matt Gaetz, a one-time target of a criminal investigation, picked to head the Justice Department to seek political revenge? "This is how justice works in an authoritarian state," reports David Corn.

After narrowly winning the election, Donald Trump selected a gang of inexperienced extremists for several of his most critical cabinet positions, among them for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, a former Republican congressman who was recently investigated for allegations he engaged in sex trafficking involving a minor.

Now, the Justice Department has brought no charges in that probe. Still, the House Ethics Committee also investigated these accusations and other allegations of Gaetz's wrongdoing, and it has been sitting on its final report with the House Republicans looking to cover up the committee's findings about Gaetz.

So far, the public has not been able to evaluate the serious allegations against him. Moreover, if information about any possible misdeeds is kept secret, Gaetz could be vulnerable to blackmail.

The icing on the cake? This week, billionaire Elon Musk, a top purveyor of disinformation who spent hundreds of millions of dollars to elect Trump and who has become a top Trump adviser, hailed Gaetz as the right man for the position. That's because he said Gaetz has an "axe to grind" and would act like Judge Dredd—a comic book character who has the power to unilaterally arrest, convict, sentence, and execute criminals.

"That's not what you want in an attorney general," says Corn, "unless you're running an authoritarian regime."

#MattGaetz #AttorneyGeneral #ItCanHappenHere

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