WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, was once involved in a the sex trafficking investigation by the Department of Justice he was selected to lead and remains under control by House Ethics Committee because of allegations including sexual misconduct.

Gaetz, a staunch defender of Trump, spent years engulfed in scandals which threatens to derail his confirmation as a federal law enforcement officer by the Republican-led Senate.

Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, and said last year that the Justice Department’s investigation into sex-trafficking allegations involving underage girls ended without federal charges against him.

Trump’s attorney general is expected to oversee sweeping changes to the Justice Department, which has been the target of Trump’s ire. over two criminal cases brought his accusation of conspiring to subvert the 2020 election and hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump, who has declared himself the victim of politically motivated prosecutions, made the promise repeatedly during the campaign to carry out the punishment against his political enemies if he were to return to the White House.

Gaetz is unlikely to be confirmed in time to oversee special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two federal indictments against Trump. both of which are expected to cease before the next president takes office. Smith is expected to leave his post before Trump takes office, but the special counsels are expected to produce reports on their work that are historically made public, and it remains unclear when such a report might be released. document.

In a statement Wednesday announcing his election, Trump said Gaetz would remove “systemic corruption” from the Justice Department and return the department “to its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and the constitution”.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gaetz wrote: “It will be an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General!”

Hours before the announcement, Gaetz said in a social media post that there must be a “full press against this government WITH GUNS”. He added, “And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I’m ready to go!” If confirmed as attorney general, he would oversee both the FBI and the ATF, formally known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

In a private meeting of House Republicans, the news that Trump had chosen Gaetz to lead the Justice Department sent shockwaves. Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho said he has a hard time believing Gaetz will be able to get through the Senate confirmation process. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she doesn’t think Gaetz is a serious candidate.

Some of Gaetz’s allies in the House have defended him as Trump’s pick, pointing to his experience as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. Asked Wednesday if she thought Gaetz could be confirmed, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a fellow Florida Republican, told reporters that many will try to “defame him” but “the evidence will speak for itself.”

The federal sex-trafficking investigation, which began under Attorney General Bill Barr during Trump’s first term, focused on allegations that Gaetz and former political ally Joel Greenberg paid underage girls and escorts or gave them gifts in exchange for sex.

Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as tax collector in Florida’s Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. Greenberg was convicted at the end of 2022 to 11 years in prison.

Federal investigators are looking into a trip Gaetz took to the Bahamas with a group of women and a doctor who donated to his campaign and whether the women were paid or received gifts to have sex with the men, according to people familiar with the matter. with the matter. is not allowed to discuss the investigation publicly. Prosecutors also investigated whether Gaetz and his associates tried to secure government jobs for some of the women and examined Gaetz’s ties to the medical marijuana sectorincluding whether his associates sought to influence legislation sponsored by Gaetz, the people said.

Gaetz remains under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that he was part of a scheme that led to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl.

Committee it started review of Gaetz in April 2021, delayed its work in response to a request from the Department of Justice, and renewed its work shortly after Gaetz announced that the Justice Department has closed a sex-trafficking investigation.

Over the summer, the committee provided an unusual public update to its long-running investigation, saying its review now included whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted inappropriate gifts and attempted to obstruct government investigations into his behavior. Gaetz categorically denied all allegations before the commission.

Representative Michael Guest, the Republican chairman of the House Ethics Committee, told The Associated Press that Gaetz’s nomination does not change the committee’s ongoing investigation. But if Gaetz is confirmed to the cabinet post, the committee will no longer have the authority to continue its investigation or release its report, he said.

“We’re not going to rush this investigation because of the appointment,” Guest said. “And so we will once again follow the rules and procedures that we have established.”

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Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Eric Tucker, Lisa Mascaro, Michael Balsamo and Stephen Groves contributed from Washington.