Even Maria Bartiromo Isn’t Buying GOP Congressman’s Description of Matt Gaetz as a ‘Brilliant Legal Mind’

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo could barely hold back her skepticism of Rep. Ralph Norman’s (R-SC) fawning praise of President-elect Donald Trump’s “tremendous” Attorney General pick Matt Gaetz as a “brilliant legal mind.”

Trump’s decision to tap the firebrand lawmaker raised eyebrows on the left and the right in Washington on Wednesday, sparking immediate doubts about his chances of surviving Senate confirmation.

Gaetz, who was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe looking into personal misconduct allegations, resigned from Congress upon hearing the news of his nomination — prompting the closure of the committee’s probe which was set to vote to possibly release its findings Friday. Even though the committee no longer has jurisdiction over Gaetz since he’s no longer in Congress, it could still vote to release the report, and several prominent Republicans have voiced their support for doing so. Last year, the Department of Justice ended a probe into the lawmaker on similar claims but declined to bring charges against him.

Raising the nomination with Norman on Friday during her show, Bartiromo began by detailing the accusations leveled against Gaetz.

Bartiromo began: “Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are asking the House Ethics Committee to preserve and turn over all documents on former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz. As you know Gaetz is Trump’s pick for attorney general. He was the subject of an Ethics Committee investigation on whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. The committee was supposed to vote whether to release that report on Matt Gaetz but now he resigned from Congress the report has been scrapped.”

Rounding on her question, she asked: “What are your thoughts on Matt Gaetz? Can he actually get confirmed or is it that he’s not getting confirmed and everybody knows that?”

“Look, Matt Gaetz is a brilliant legal mind,” Norman replied. “He will be the left wing socialists’ worst enemy. I think he will. Matt can handle himself. He has nothing to hide.”

“The DOJ dismissed all the charges,” he continued. “The political witch-hunt on the Ethics report had been done by House members and we know who pushed that against him. He pushed back, the DOJ dismissed it and he has nothing to hide. Matt Gaetz is a tremendous pick. You can trust what he does and he’s a risk taker, which is what’s good and what’s needed in opposition.”

“Okay,” came Bartiromo’s startled response. “That’s good to hear from you because I know your colleagues don’t feel that way. When he was resigning he said ‘I don’t intend to take the oath again.’ Let’s say he does not get confirmed and not coming back to congress, is he out now?”

Norman replied, staying on course: “Matt will have to enter that we can do anything he wants to do. But, Maria, he’s one of those people who is brilliant at what he does and he’s done things in congress and people that don’t like him, he’s got the right thing. What he did with Kevin McCarthy, that was the right thing to do. Some people disagree with that but –”

“A lot of people disagree,” Bartiromo quipped.

“Yeah,” Norman continued. “But Matt is such a talent and he will make a contribution wherever he is. I think he will get confirmed and watch them on the stand when he gets grilled. He can handle himself like no other.”

On that note, the host ended the interview.

Watch above on Fox Business.