In a recent episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) put forward a novel idea to support former President Donald Trump amidst what he terms as Jack Smith’s “politically-motivated crusade.”
Gaetz’s proposal involves having Trump testify before Congress in the role of a whistleblower, thereby activating certain immunity provisions.
During his appearance on the show, Gaetz said, “You can actually bring President Trump in to give testimony to the Congress and in doing so, immunize him.”
He delved deeper into the mechanics, explaining, “Now, there’s different forms of immunity that take place at the committee level, subcommittee level, in some instances for full immunity you have to have more of a supermajority vote.”
He went on to detail potential paths forward, remarking, “But if you had a supermajority vote of a committee, like Speaker McCarthy could set up a select committee tomorrow that can bring Trump in and immunize him. And then we could proceed with the very legitimate investigative work that we’re doing of the Bidens and the corrupt DOJ.”
He lamented the current state of affairs, observing, “Unfortunately, none of those things are happening. Instead, Congress is not in Washington, not assembled. And I think the timing is on purpose. No timing in DC is ever just a mere coincidence. And so right as Congress is leaving town, right as we are walking away from our equities you see this acceleration of activity against Trump.”
Upon probing by the host Charlie Kirk on what the immunity could cover, including current indictments or obstruction claims, Gaetz responded, “Well, it hasn’t been used recently.”
He clarified the congressional power, noting, “But obviously we’re aware of the ability for any person to plead the Fifth. You can dissolve someone’s ability to plead the Fifth if you immunize them. And so Congress has this ability that’s been recognized — it’s even laid out in 18 U.S.C. 6002 and 6005, if folks want to look it up.”
Concluding his thoughts, Gaetz illustrated a scenario, stating, “And so, for example, if President Trump came in and said I’m here to give you testimony about the witch hunt, the abuse of criminal process that Congress has a legitimate oversight equities to resolve. And if he were to say things to us, we could immunize him for that conduct he were to discuss.”
Watch the exchange below:
