(Editor's Note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement for any potential federal-level nominee, or currently active for consideration federal-level nominee, on the part of Newsmax.)
The electoral victory of Donald J. Trump means delivery on the campaign promise to: "Make America Great Again."
And the vigor of President-elect Trump is obvious as it’s reflected in the speed and choices of his cabinet nominees.
Although American citizens (at least we hope they do) know the pledge of allegiance by rote, most do not appreciate the gravity of the words — the promise of America providing "liberty and justice for all." Liberty and justice are guiding American virtues found in both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Yet both liberty and justice have been in decline in the United States, with the pace accelerating so fast in the last four years that many began questioning the survival of America as a constitutional republic.
Among all U.S. agencies, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is most important in shaping and affecting the status of liberty and justice.
Many contend the DOJ attorney general (AG) is the most powerful political figure after the president. So, it came as a surprise to many that Trump chose Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to serve as his attorney general.
What this nomination shows is the farsightedness of Trump.
Our incoming 47th commander in chief grasps the imperative of disruption to reform the DOJ and restore "equal justice under the law."
Gaetz is young, determined, brilliant, relentless, and courageous.
He has what it takes to transform an entrenched Justice Department and usher in a new depoliticized era wherein the DOJ and the FBI get "re-railed" on a straight and narrow law enforcement track.
One of Gaetz’s greatest challenges will be the de-weaponization of federal agencies.
It's plenty worth it to review some of the actions that contributed to our current dysfunctional state — actions for which there were no significant penalties:
Obama era Atty. Gen. Eric Holder’s "Fast and Furious" gun running strategy to heighten violence on the southern border was undertaken to curtail the Second Amendment rights of Americans — a harbinger of the present border crisis violence and various false flag campaigns to use violence to take Americans’ guns.
The Obama administration’s use of Lois Lerner, director of the IRS Exempt Organizations Unit, to muzzle free speech from the patriotic tea party movement by denying its member organizations tax-exempt status — a harbinger of our present censorship crisis.
At the end of Obama administration, a highly illegal spy operation was hatched —facilitated by a FISA court acting on false information — against Mr. Trump and his inner circle associates and campaign leaders in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights — a harbinger of the high-tech national surveillance state increasingly controlling us.
At the end of the Trump administration, the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley engaged in secret talks with his counterpart in the Chinese military, PLA General Li Zuocheng, wherein Milley conceded that he would call him if any changes or initiatives were undertaken by Trump. This was a potentially treasonous act, for which Milley was never tried or sanctioned — a harbinger of China’s complete disrespect for U.S. military leadership.
The Biden administration put weaponization of federal government agencies on steroids, with the Justice Department becoming a hotbed of haphazard trickery, undertaken to support various political narratives that damaged political opponents and exacerbated division within the U.S.
For example, Aug. 8, 2022 will go down in infamy being the day the FBI took the unprecedented action of raiding Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago residence allegedly in search of classified documents which Trump was purportedly unauthorized to possess.
Then between March and August of 2023 Trump became the first president in American history charged with state and federal felony crimes — not one, but four separate indictments in four different jurisdictions.
To succeed as attorney general, Gaetz needs an effective agenda and a strategy. On the former, Gaetz is uniquely well-informed on areas of injustice to establish a prioritized agenda, reflected in topics covered in his Firebrand podcast series:
- Lawfare.
- The contents of the Hunter Biden laptop.
- Purported knowledge of the identity of FBI informants who facilitated the false flag by creating the appearance of insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
- The censorship industrial complex orchestrated by federal government agencies.
- The DHS inspector general’s alleged inclination to allow censorship for political reasons.
- Purported knowledge of how the revolving door of employees from government agencies, such as DHS and CIA move to Big Tech companies to facilitate censorship and the propagation of political narratives.
- Specific details and consequences of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' border policies.
- Purported knowledge about the location of sex and drug trafficking cartel operations headquarters in both Mexico and the United States.
- Purported knowledge about political coercion and purging of personnel in the U.S. military branches.
That Congressman Gaetz’s congressional career and the recent announcement of his nomination as the next U.S. attorney general has received sharp criticism and opposition should surprise no one.
Gaetz can be likened to a fighter pilot who encounters flak and fire when he is over the enemy target. His unique job qualifications are in temperament and range of knowledge about the Deep State in America and their alleged violations of the U.S. Constitution.
Gaetz would do well to staff up and be fully prepared to implement strategy based the wisdom of the first modern political philosopher.
According to Machiavelli’s recommendations to "The Prince," in his famous work by that title, unpopular actions should be inflicted in a concentrated period. That way the negative impact of the critics will come at one time and be less lasting and forgotten sooner than they would be if offensive and unpleasant measures were spread out over months and years.
Let the downsizing, de-weaponization, and the clearing of U.S. government agencies begin.
It's long overdue.
Scott S. Powell, a member of the Committee on the Present Danger: China and senior fellow at Discovery Institute, is the author of "Rediscovering America," a new release in the history genre. You may reach him at scottp@discovery.org. Read Scott S. Powell's Reports — More Here.