In the days following revelations about the federal investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz’s alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, advisers to Donald Trump have consistently offered him a simple message: Please, please keep your mouth shut…

The two sources said that, in all of the conversations they’re aware of, Trump has appeared to ultimately agree with the recommendations to keep quiet. One of the sources added that the former president has lamented that the whole thing seems “really bad” for Gaetz, while also mentioning that the allegations could be a “smear” against the Trump uber-loyalist…

Bennett continued that Trump was loyal to those who are loyal to him. But, he said, nobody wants to be associated with a guy who’s been tagged with these sorts of allegations, if they end up being true. “For something like this,” Bennett said, “a ten-foot pole is not long enough. The former president should stay as far away from this as possible.”