Matt Gaetz Wants To Hire Kyle Rittenhouse as a Congressional Intern

Florida congressman Matt Gaetz said would be willing to offer Kyle Rittenhouse an internship at his office if he is acquitted of murder.

Speaking to Newsmax's Grant Stinchfield on Wednesday, Gaetz said he thinks the 18-year-old is not guilty of the charges and that the defendant was acting in self defense when he shot and killed two people and injured a third during a Black Lives Matter protest last August.

The jury is currently deliberating on whether to convict the defendant in the highly divisive trial.

"He is not guilty, he deserves a not guilty verdict," Gaetz said.

"And I sure hope he gets it because, you know what? Kyle Rittenhouse would probably make a pretty good congressional intern [and] we may reach out to him and see if he'd be interested in helping the country in additional ways."

In response, Stinchfield said he is open to the idea of Rittenhouse being offered an internship at Newsmax if he walks from his trial.

"You guys pay way better at Newsmax, but there's nothing like The Hill," Gaetz added.

The congressman again suggested that Rittenhouse would make "a great Congressional intern" while tweeting out a clip of the interview to his 1.4 million followers.

Elsewhere, Gaetz spoke out about the sentencing of Capital rioter Jacob Chansley, better known as the QAnon Shaman, who was handed a 41-month sentence on Wednesday.

Gaetz spoke at the "hypocrisy and double standards" that the "relatively harmless, non-violent vegan" was given a jail term over the January 6 attack after Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters "burned our cities, brought bloodshed to our neighbourhoods [and] threatened our fellow Americans."

"The notion that he's got to be in prison for three and a half years to settle some sort of political score defies justice," Gaetz added.

"The American people deserve a Department of Justice that is the least political agency in Washington.

"Instead what we've got is the Department of Justice that is the most political agency in Washington becoming essentially the enforcement wing of the Democratic Party."

The comments arrive as Gaetz is currently facing legal issues of his own. The congressman is under investigation by the FBI over allegations of sex trafficking of a minor. He has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing.

Rittenhouse is on trial accused of first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree intentional homicide over the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, as well attempted first-degree intentional homicide for injuring Gaige Grosskreutz.

A misdemeanor count of being a minor in possession of a firearm was thrown out by the judge prior to the jury being sent out for deliberations.

Gaetz has been contacted for further comment.