In an interview on the Tom Joyner radio show in April 2013, then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was asked whether he would leave President Barack Obama's administration after the Republican-led Congress held him in contempt. He famously replied that he would stay because “I’m still enjoying what I’m doing…I’m still the President’s wingman.”
Holder stayed in the position of Attorney General for another two years, filling the role of “wingman,” defined as someone who “helps, protects, or guides a friend or associate.”
Not surprisingly, Republicans could not punish Holder or Obama for any wrongdoing committed during that administration. Republicans are never as persistent as Democrats in pursuing political or judicial victories against their opponents. Democrats usually prevail by displaying unity and fighting back with a vengeance.
Then, Republicans were horrified that an Attorney General would serve as the President’s “wingman.” Today, the GOP must stop being naïve and understand how politics works in Washington, D.C.
For a President to be shielded from the opposition party’s investigations, he needs an attorney general who can act as a “wingman.” Holder performed this role for Obama. None of the Republican Party’s investigations into the Obama administration were successful.
Thus, the congressional hearings on the Benghazi terrorist attack, the “Fast and Furious” gun-running operation, and the Internal Revenue Service’s illegal targeting of Tea Party groups all went nowhere. While all these scandals should have produced indictments and convictions, the only thing that Republicans garnered was extreme frustration.
Undoubtedly, Holder inspired the current Attorney General, Merrick Garland, who has tirelessly protected President Joe Biden from various scandals.
While Garland unleashed the Department of Justice (DOJ) against President Donald Trump, he shielded Biden from potential problems. For example, despite improperly storing classified documents in multiple locations, special counsel Robert Hur did not charge Biden, who claimed that Biden was a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Such consideration was not extended to President Trump, who was the victim of an FBI raid, multiple investigations, and a variety of criminal charges.
The mistreatment of Trump started when he first announced his presidential candidacy in 2015. It continued through the 2016 campaign, the transition period, and his first term as President. He was improperly surveilled, the target of a phony dossier and “Russian collusion” investigation, and was victimized by a coordinated effort to cover up the scandalous “Hunter Biden laptop” that would have been very impactful in the 2020 election.
At no point during this time did President Trump have an ally as the official Attorney General. While the interim Attorney General, Matthew Whitaker, was a strong bulwark against DOJ abuse of President Trump, the two individuals who were officially confirmed in that position, Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr, did nothing to protect him.
In this first term, Trump did not have a “wingman” as Attorney General. Fortunately, he will return to the White House, and his second term will be an opportunity to correct the few missteps of his remarkably successful first term.
One of the glaring mistakes of the first term was the inclusion of establishment Republicans in his administration. These appointments were not loyal to President Trump or his Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda.
For his second term, President Trump is wisely choosing loyalists who will support him and the MAGA agenda. While President Trump has made excellent selections for his cabinet, his best one was his choice for Attorney General, former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. In response to this announcement, heads exploded throughout Capitol Hill and in the left-wing news media.
This selection is the most important one for President Trump, as the Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched multiple attacks against him for years.
If confirmed, Gaetz will be an excellent Attorney General. He will remove the leftwing bureaucrats hiding in the DOJ, and he will pursue real justice instead of political persecution and injustice.
Gaetz has been the most influential member of the House Judiciary Committee and has peppered both Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray with the type of probing questions that other Republicans refused to ask.
The last person the entrenched bureaucrats in the DOJ want in the position of Attorney General is Matt Gaetz, which is exactly why Trump nominated him.
Unfortunately, the Deep State is preparing an unremitting attack against Gaetz to prevent his confirmation. They are lining up establishment Republican supporters in the U.S. Senate, who claim he is not qualified and demand that a House Ethics Committee report on Gaetz be released.
Of course, Gaetz is qualified for the position as a practicing attorney with years of experience on the House Judiciary Committee, serving a significant role in overseeing the activities of the DOJ.
The House Ethics Committee report on Gaetz does not need to be released because he no longer serves in Congress. In addition, the charges of “sex trafficking” are so flimsy that the DOJ declined to pursue charges against Gaetz.
Senate Republicans need to realize what Obama famously said after his 2008 election victory. He told Republican opponents in Congress that “elections have consequences,” and he “won,” so he will pursue his agenda whether they like it or not.
This same advice needs to be delivered to obstructionists in the U.S. Senate. President Trump won a landslide victory and should be entitled to select the team he wants to serve in his cabinet.
In the first two years of his last term, Trump faced unwarranted opposition from the Republican-led Congress. In this term, Republican voters must demand GOP members of Congress, especially U.S. Senators, support his agenda.
Their opposition should not be tolerated by Republican voters across the country. Any Republican Senator who opposes Gaetz or other nominees should be primaried in their next election. The Republican Party is in power today only because of Donald Trump, and every GOP Senator must remember that fact.
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian, and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America's Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-9 a.m. & 6-7 p.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America's Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com
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