People who attended law school with him are ashamed to have him among their ranks. During his years at William and Mary University, he was just an anonymous face. Among the few who remembered him, was a woman who founded the Matt Haetz Society, referring to House Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL). But why?
Articles of Gaetz unpleasant habits, according to The Daily Beast, CNN, and The Business Insider might have contributed to her ire:
‘[S]norting cocaine with a paid escort or a story that the congressman showed his congressional colleagues adult photos of women — an allegation, among others, that has subjected Gaetz to a congressional ethics investigation.’
Carolyn Fiddler wrote critically about Gaetz and why she founded the “Matt Haetz Society,” another The Business Insider article wrote:
‘As co-president of the Matt Haetz Society, I unironically love how my phone absolutely blows up when news like this drops.’
A former classmate said:
‘They really did preach being citizen lawyers — not only being people who show up in the courtroom but giving back to society. I guess he doesn’t remember that day of orientation. [His scandals were] embarrassing to the institution.’
Another former classmate noticed that Gaetz questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election and responded:
‘In doing that he’s undermining our system of government and the rule of law. In my view that’s not appropriate conduct for an attorney to be engaging in.’
The alumni continued:
‘Obviously, it’s not great to have Matt be among our alumni. It’s not really the person you want to point to as a role model.’
The alumnus letter showed how much his classmates condemned him as they called for his resignation:
‘Gaetz was] the antithesis of a citizen lawyer and he cannot be trusted with the laws of our nation.’
One former classmate said:
‘There are a handful of students that stood out as being particularly intelligent, others as particularly aggressive — we call them ‘gunners. [Gaetz] wasn’t either of those. He’s always been kind of a frat boy.’
On June 3, she tweeted a link to The Politico article wondering whether Gaetz had obstructed justice. “Ooooops.” As Communications Director for The Daily Kos, Fiddler said:
‘I have never been shy about my attitude toward Matt Gaetz. Among my circle of friends, we do keep abreast of the latest Matt Gaetz developments and share them and commiserate together.’
Fiddler doubted she would even recall Gaetz had he not gone into ultra-right-wing politics:
‘[He introduced] controversial and right-wing legislation…He was just another dude that I didn’t want to hang out with in law school.’
At question was the “citizen lawyer” ethic. The college site listed Gaetz among its six alumni in the U.S. House of Representatives. But that was it. He did not make it to the school’s “incredible alumni.” That list did include “comedian Jon Stewart, actress Glenn Close, and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.”
Gaetz bragged about shouting at a Stanford University law professor in Firebrand: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the MAGA Revolution:
‘It’s not every day that I, a graduate of William & Mary Law School (ranked 31), get to tell a Stanford Law professor (ranked 2) exactly what I think of those who think so little of the American people,” Gaetz wrote in “Firebrand: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the MAGA Revolution.’
‘I’m sure my aggressive, sometimes angry questioning of these supposed titans of legal education didn’t win me votes in faculty lounges. But we aren’t governed by them, are we? And they aren’t my audience. They were barely my audience when they graded my exams at the William & Mary Law School.’
A former classmate said that Gaetz’s law-school reputation boiled down to this:
‘[He had an] attention-seeking with a frat-boy vibe — is similar to how he comes across as a congressman. Except he’s more over-the-top now.’
Years earlier, according to CNBC:
‘[Gaetz mused about introducing]Â a bill to dissolve the US Environmental Protection Agency [epa] as one of his first legislative efforts in Congress.’
To read the list of names in its entirity, go to The Business Sider.
Three White Lions podcast, Gloria Christie reads her week’s most important news/ commentary stories in the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Gloria Christie Report her newsletter for people on the go. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor in a briefer version of Bipartisan Report. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures InÂ
