WashingtonDonald Trump wants to avoid background checks that the FBI usually conducts once the president-elect names who will be part of his cabinet. To avoid that, the president-elect’s transition team is using private firms to conduct research on candidates for office in the incoming administration. Trump and his allies are bypassing the FBI’s traditional process, people close to the plan tell CNN, arguing that the feds are taking too long and following a problem-ridden procedure that could stymie the Republican’s plan to begin implementing the your schedule from day one.
Critics also argue that the FBI’s inspection could reveal information that could then be used against the candidates themselves. Trump’s opposition to background checks coincides with the controversy surrounding his choice of congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general. Gaetz is not only known for his ultra profile and his belligerent nature in Congress, where he has interrupted several sessions of the lower house, but he is also the subject of a child abuse investigation. The House Ethics Committee is under review against Gaetz for sexual misconduct, illegal drug use, accepting improper gifts and attempting to obstruct government investigations into his conduct.
In connection with the committee’s case, in 2021 the Justice Department opened a sex-trafficking investigation into Gaetz. The case centered on whether the Florida congressman had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid her to travel with him. Justice closed the process without criminal consequences. Trump now wants Gaetz to occupy one of the most important posts in the US judicial system, where he will have the authority to dismiss the two federal cases that are open against the former president and can order investigations to be opened where he deems them necessary.
Although protocol dictates that the FBI conduct background checks, the president-elect has the final say on which members of the new cabinet or with whom information is shared. Avoiding checks by the FBI also means going against a rule established in Washington for a long time. Although it would not be the first tradition that Trump breaks: he already did it in 2020 when he did not invite Joe Biden to the White House to stage the transfer of power between the outgoing president and the incoming president. Nor was he present during Biden’s inauguration in January. Instead, Trump fueled theories of voter fraud and instigated the storming of the Capitol on January 6 in an attempt to revoke the certification of the election results.
Distrust in institutions
Trump’s misgivings about the FBI highlight once again the tycoon’s distrust of state institutions and structures, which he has severely criticized and labeled as the “deep state“. Refusing to let the FBI check the background of its candidates and controlling the process via private companies, generates even more distrust regarding the controversial choice of Gaetz as attorney general.
Within the Republican ranks, many congressmen were stunned by the decision. Gaetz has made a lot of enemies in the halls of the Capitol, including people in his own party. His position, like many other members of the incoming administration, must be confirmed by the Senate. Although Republicans control the upper house, they have a very narrow majority there and there are already senators who have been critical of their choice.
Gaetz resigned as a congressman on Wednesday, shortly before the report about the sexual relationship with the minor came to light. Having resigned from the deputy record, the committee can no longer publish its investigation into Gaetz. While some congressmen have insisted that he make it public anyway, this Friday l‘speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, has announced that he will “strongly” ask the committee not to release the document.
Source: www.ara.cat
