Trump Insiders Say President-Elect Was Misled By Gaetz, Hegseth About Past Scandals

President-elect Donald Trump was misled by cabinet nominees Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth about the extent of the misconduct allegations against them, according to several sources who spoke with Mediaite.

One source, granted anonymity in order to speak candidly about internal deliberations, said the House Ethics Committee report on the allegations against Gaetz was a major blow to his chances as Trump’s nominee to run the Justice Department — given its contents were far more damning than Gaetz had led the president-elect to believe.

“It’s worth considering that no actual ‘crime’ may have occurred — hence the lack of an FBI investigation — but what people have seen in the report is so heinous, it makes a potential recess appointment too damaging for the incoming administration and has become a big reason why those surrounding the President-elect have raised flags about distancing themselves from him,” the source said.

“Despite reports about holdout senators, the investigation into Gaetz is so salacious that Team Trump had no choice but to distance themselves,” they added.

Another source, who served on the Trump campaign, told Mediaite that when Gaetz was confronted about the allegations of sexual misconduct against him he “denied, denied, denied.”

“Trump believed him at face value,” the source said. “Gaetz got caught.”

Gaetz withdrew his nomination for attorney general on Thursday. He had resigned from Congress after being nominated by Trump to serve as attorney general, a move that meant the Ethics Committee report on his alleged sexual misconduct and drug use would not be released officially.

Gaetz was not the only cabinet nominee said to have misled the president-elect. Hegseth, the former Fox News host who is Trump has nominated for Secretary of Defense, was questioned about his past in initial discussions with Trump’s team. A source said Hegseth — who has been married three times and has pursued multiple extra-marital affairs — was asked if there were any scandals from his past and even if he had ever signed a non-disclosure agreement.

“He told the campaign there’s no issues,” said the source. “There’s no assault issues. There’s no NDA. Compounding lies.”

Soon after, the Trump transition team learned that Hegseth was accused of rape in October 2017 by a woman he admitted to having consensual sex with. He later paid her to sign a nondisclosure agreement to keep quiet about her claim. Hegseth was never charged with a crime and denied the sex was nonconsensual both in an interview with police at the time and through his lawyer after the allegation was made public this month. The police report on the incident, which was obtained by Mediaite, reveals graphic details of the alleged sexual assault.

The result is that Hegseth’s nomination to run the Department of Defense is in jeopardy  — and sources close to the decision-making say pressure for Hegseth to drop out is mounting.

“My view coming from the transition is they don’t want him,” one source who served on the Trump campaign said. “He may still have some confidence of the President, but the staff doesn’t want him.”

Still, the steady drumbeat of bad headlines is a problem for Trump. “He is annoyed at the revolving disclosures,” the source said.

What’s more, if Hegseth stays in the running, the source said Democrats will almost certainly investigate the 2017 sexual assault claim. Even worse, the accuser, now known to the public only as Jane Doe, will likely testify.

“My understanding is that [Doe] will testify if she is asked,” the source said. “We will fight it.”

Underlying all of this: each time the media reports on the alleged sexual misconduct of Hegseth and Gaetz — as well as Trump’s pick for education secretary Linda McMahon and her alleged role in concealing sex abuse during her tenure as a WWE executive — Trump’s own sexual misconduct is mentioned. This is increasingly seen as a liability by the Trump team.

“When the names Gaetz, Linda McMahon, Hegseth are brought up, Trump’s own issues get brought up too. It’s a branding issue,” the source said.

Gaetz, of course, has already dropped out of the running. He said Friday he would not be returning to Congress, sparking speculation that he could pivot to a career in media. Greg Kelly, a host at Newsmax, proposed on air that Gaetz join the pro-Trump network.

The network shot down that idea in a statement: “Newsmax is not planning any lineup changes and has no plans to offer Rep. Gaetz a position at the network.”

Gaetz also said he would not take a job at Newsmax when reached for comment.

“I’m back to work doing what I was doing last Tuesday: supporting president trumps [sic] historic and successful transition,” he told Mediaite.

Regardless of where he lands next, Gaetz will remain in Trump’s orbit, thanks in no small part to his brother-in-law Palmer Luckey, a billionaire tech founder and Trump donor.

“They’ll find a way to engage Gaetz,” said the source. “But no one (at least the staff) wants him near Trump. It’s the trust gap. No one trusts Gaetz. They’ll give him something like an ambassadorship. Give him something to go away. Send his ass to Germany. What do we care?”