'Your career is forever': Right-wing co-founder of The Federalist pleads to senators
Co-founder of The Federalist and far-right commentator Ben Domenech is telling Republican Senators that if they approve former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as attorney general, they'll own the decision forever.
Domenech attacked Gaetz in "The Transom" newsletter on Thursday, calling him a "piece of s--t" and slinging allegations about sex trafficking and drug use, both of which Gaetz has been investigated for but which he denies.
Domenech, who is married to former Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) daughter Meghan, recalled Sen. Markwayne Mullin's (R-OK) allegations that Gaetz boasted to him of his exploits. Gaetz has denied that as well, CNN reported at the time.
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"Every Republican in Washington has an opinion about Matt Gaetz, and 99 percent of those opinions are 'Keep Matt Gaetz away from my wife/daughter/friend and anyone I care about,'” wrote Domenech.
Gaetz was investigated by the Justice Department and he was told that he would not be charged, as NBC News reported at the time. A House ethics investigation was ongoing when he resigned Wednesday.
"If you vote for him to be the Attorney General of the United States, you don’t just need your head examined, you need to be committed to a mental institution," he continued. "The man is absolutely vile. There are pools of vomit with more to offer the earth than this ... failure of fallen masculinity."
He went through the list of allegations against Gaetz with his own fact-checks before telling Republicans that the line that will determine the direction of the party's future has arrived.
"If they are truly a cult of personality, beholden to Donald Trump in ways that we could not even imagine for a party that rejects cults and idol worship, they will approve this choice," said Domenech.
"But if they have a degree of independence, any kind of free thought, mindful of the fact that a presidency is four years but your career is forever, they will reject this choice so emphatically that it sends a very simple, straightforward message" that either someone votes for Gaetz "or you can be a Republican. The choice is yours."