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Matt Gaetz dragged over sex scandal after Kyle Rittenhouse internship offer: 'He's no longer 17'

'You know what, Kyle Rittenhouse would probably make a good congressional intern' says Gaetz

Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz was mocked on social media after he said he believed Kyle Rittenhouse is innocent and would consider offering him a congressional internship.

The 18-year-old's hotly-anticipated homicide trial is underway as the jury couldn't reach a verdict after a third full day of deliberations on Thursday, November 18. The Antioch, Illinois teenager is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during the violent unrest that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake last summer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse has maintained that his actions were purely in self-defense.

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“You know what, Kyle Rittenhouse would probably make a good congressional intern. We may reach out to him and see if he’d be interested in helping the country in additional ways,” Gaetz said Wednesday, November 17, during an appearance on Newsmax. “He is not guilty. He deserves a not guilty verdict and I sure hope he gets it,” he added.   

The congressman also decried the sentencing of January 6 protester Jacob Chansley, dubbed the 'QAnon Shaman' over his characteristic appearance, who entered the Capitol building wearing a furry headdress with horns. He was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Wednesday, Nov 17 for his alleged role in the riot. "This QAnon Shaman is a relatively harmless, nonviolent vegan, and the notion that he has to be in prison for three and a half years to settle some sort of political score defies justice," Gaetz said. "The American people deserve a Department of Justice that is the least political agency in Washington, and instead what we’ve got is a Department of Justice that is the most political agency in Washington," he added.

It's worth noting that the Department of Justice is investigating Gaetz over his alleged travel to the Bahamas with women and whether they were paid to travel for sex in violation of federal law. The Republican firebrand is being probed over allegations that he maintained a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her travel with him. Gaetz's onetime pal and political ally Joel Greenberg has pleaded guilty to a slew of federal charges in the said investigation and is currently cooperating with prosecutors.

While Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the aforementioned investigations, his critics couldn't help but poke fun at his internship offer for Rittenhouse, who turned 18 this year. "Matt Gaetz told Newsmax that he wanted to hire Kyle Rittenhouse as a congressional intern, which is particularly weird because Rittenhouse is not 17 anymore," comedian Steve Hofstetter tweeted.

"Matt Gaetz says he wants to hire Kyle Rittenhouse as a congressional intern, in obvious attempt to fulfill some weird gender-reversed Clinton era fetish fantasy, while also making a brilliant play for the identitarian Left," fellow comedian Brian Scott McFadden added. "Did Matt Gaetz declare his intentions to “adopt” Kyle Rittenhouse yet?" one Twitter user wrote, referring to his adopted son Nestor Galban.

"Matt Gaetz says he’d like to offer Kyle Rittenhouse a Congressional internship - yep, Matt’s trying to use Kyle to meet younger girls. That’s what that’s about," another added.

"Gaetz’s dumb offer doesn’t surprise me, but how much would you bet Gaetz is indicted before Rittenhouse could take him up in the offer?" a comment read. "Breaking News Flash: Matt Gaetz rescinds internship offer to Kyle Rittenhouse after discovering that he is no longer seventeen," someone else quipped.