A.G. Gancarski
A staunch ally of President Donald Trump reiterated his intention to challenge the results of the election that will remove him from office.
But he could not bring himself to predict that the challenge would do any good.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, appearing on the Fox News Channel Tuesday, did not predict that the longshot challenge, not even supported uniformly by Republicans, would somehow prevail.
“I do believe there will be a second term for Donald Trump,” the Congressman said on Fox and Friends. “I don’t know if it will be in 2021 or 2025.”
Gaetz said that the objections would be to “states that didn’t run clean elections” and that “departed from their own laws,” singling out Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania as “particularly egregious” offenders.
As well, the Panhandle Republican promised a probe into “the handling and processing of ballots in urban areas,” with specific concerns about “chain of custody of ballots, duplication of ballots, re-scanning of ballots” in Detroit.
“These claims really didn’t get a full and fair hearing in any court,” the Congressman lamented.
Additionally, Gaetz vowed an inquiry into “places around country when we looked under the hood” were “very concerning.”
As conversation turned to VP Mike Pence, who will preside over the Senate as the President’s loss is almost certainly certified, Gaetz signaled that he wasn’t worried about Pence doing as Joe Biden did four years ago and tamping down Senate objections.
“We have support of members of the United States Senate,” Gaetz said, adding that the objection meets “Constitutional muster.”
Gaetz then speculated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might be tempted to tamp down restive Republicans on Wednesday.
“One question remaining is whether or not Nancy Pelosi will even allow the two hours of Constitutionally authorized debate around these questions, but when you’ve got tens of thousands of people potentially marching in the streets of Washington D.C. tomorrow, I think it would be a very bad look for the People’s House not to entertain debate.”
The Congressman, who has acknowledged Joe Biden‘s win in fundraising emails going back to mid-December, nonetheless will be one of many Republicans, including from Florida, questioning the results.
Reps. John Rutherford, Scott Franklin, Kat Cammack, Brian Mast and Byron Donalds have committed to objecting to certification, with Reps. Mike Waltz and Bill Posey considering it.
In the Senate, meanwhile, Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott have yet to take formal positions on the question, resisting pressure that included protesters amassing at their Sunshine State homes last weekend.
