Professor Chin Speaks to Globe and Mail about Matt Gaetz

Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin spoke to David Shribman for a Nov. 16 story in Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper on President-elect Donald Trump’s unorthodox Cabinet picks, including former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services.

“Mr. Gaetz does not have the high-level law practice and leadership experience typical of past attorneys general,” Chin told Shribman. “Likewise, his conduct has given rise to a significant number of ethical questions, including an allegation of having sex with a high school student while he was a member of Congress. I’m very surprised that one of the many experienced Republican lawyers of unquestioned personal integrity wasn’t nominated.”

Gaetz withdrew from attorney general consideration on Nov. 21, after it became clear he lacked the votes in the Senate to be confirmed.

Gabriel “Jack” Chin is a Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law and holder of the Edward L. Barrett Jr. Endowed Chair at UC Davis School of Law. He is a prolific and much-cited criminal and immigration law scholar whose work has addressed many of the most pressing social issues of our time.