Ex-federal prosecutor: Why DOJ’s refusal to prosecute Gaetz 'not an exoneration'

After the House Ethics Committee decided not to release its report into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) sex trafficking allegations, former federal prosecutor Mary McCord explained why the Department of Justice's decision not to prosecute the attorney general nominee doesn't mean he's off the hook.

Speaking with MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace Wednesday, McCord said, "I think one of the things here that people may be confused about is, what does it mean that the department of justice declined to bring charges? Does that mean they concluded he was not guilty of committing any crime. And the answer is no. There are many reasons that the Department of Justice, sometimes at the end of an investigation, decides not to prosecute. And it could be that on any particular element of the crime, they didn't feel they were rock solid on being able to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt."

The former federal prosecutor continued, "There had been reporting, for example, that one of the two women who testified said she didn't think that Matt Gaetz knew, for example, the age of the 17-year-old that apparently he was seen having sex with. That kind of thing, like knowledge of age, would be important to the Department of Justice. There could be other things too with respect to evidence that made them decide ultimately that they were not convinced that they could prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. And there could have been other discretionary considerations as well. But it should not be considered an exoneration."

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"The fact is, even being, all of the information that is starting to come out about these sex parties, and these drugs, is why it is so important — it should be important to the ethics committee," McCord added. "It should be very important to the Senate committees that would have to approve his appointment."

Furthermore, McCord emphasized, "t's not only that he is unqualified. He does have a law degree, but he really has not substantially practiced law. He has been a politician his whole career. He has no experience at the state or federal level at the department of justice prosecuting or doing civil cases. He has propounded conspiracy theories. He has made excuses and lies on what happened on January 6th. And of course he is accused of these very serious sex trafficking offenses. So. the message this sends abroad and the message it would send within the department is also really deeply concerning. People work there as career attorneys and prosecutors across administrations — Republican administrations, Democratic administrations — and feel committed to doing their job, and to bring justice to the American people. And this would be a huge, huge blow to the rank and file at the department."

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