CNN’s Paula Reid Reports Matt Gaetz’s Own Allies Don’t Believe AG Bid ‘Is a Good Idea’

CNN’s Paula Reid reported that even Matt Gaetz’s allies don’t believe that President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to tap him to lead the Department of Justice is a “good idea” on Thursday.

Asked to describe her conversation with sources since Trump’s announcement on Wednesday.

“Look, Dana, I’ve spoken to dozens of people since Gaetz was announced as the pick for attorney general, and the only person who had anything really positive to say about it was someone who works in an agency that takes lawyers from government and places them in the private sector, saying that this announcement has made their job,” replied Reid. “Now, in addition to the negative reaction inside DOJ, I also reached out to people who worked in the Trump Justice Department, so people who are ideologically aligned with the president-elect about this pick. And universally, they believed that this was not a good idea, that he is not qualified. One of them is, quote, ‘Praying that the other people who will lead the Justice Department’ so the people who will run the individual components inside DOJ — the criminal division, the antitrust division, the civil division — they’re hoping that those will be more mainstream people who are more qualified and have relevant experience.”

Then she plunged the dagger:

I also reached out to people who are close to the congressman that I’ve gotten to know in reporting on his criminal investigations, asking them if they see a reason that he’s uniquely qualified or asking what he’ll bring to this. And across the board, Dana, they told me that they do not believe that this is a good idea. And, of course, there’s also the issue of this House Ethics Committee report hanging out there and how, if that is released, that could impact his ability not only to get confirmed, there’s obviously workarounds there, but also to do this job with credibility. Not only have some lawmakers called for this to be released, but we’re also hearing from the lawyer for the underage girl at the center of a sex trafficking investigation. They are also calling for this report to be released.

Watch above via CNN.