HOLD UP: There May Be Another Reason For Jason Chaffetz's Decision To Sit Out 2018

OH… this is interesting.

So a big shocker for politicos on Wednesday was that Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz would not seek reelection. Our Neil Stevens covered this, yesterday.

Citing family reasons, he announced that when his current term ended in 2018, that was it.

“I’ve been away from my family for more than 1,500 nights, and it’s as simple as a fact that I love my wife and I adore my kids and you just gotta reevaluate your life when you’re sleeping on a cot in your office,” he said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday afternoon.

“I want to reintroduce myself to my family.”

That is as noble a reason to give up the often combative political life, as any. Especially in today’s climate.

A new report, however, is providing for some further speculation.

According to the report, in spite of Chaffetz’ announcement that discussions with his family had led to his decision to withdraw from the political life, his campaign committee was already working behind the scenes.

But Friends of Jason Chaffetz registered two web domains more than a week ago, Fusion first reported, citing a search on the WhoIs domain name directory: Jason2028.com and JasonChaffetz2028.com.

The domains were secured by Chaffetz’s campaign arm on April 6. The URLs currently redirect to a generic landing page.

Another domain, JasonForGovernor.com, currently redirects to his congressional campaign page.

Some are even suggesting that Chaffetz may be planning a White House run. The time off between 2018 and the next campaign may be a time to cleanse the public’s palate of a lot of the backwash that has tainted the current attitudes towards politicians, especially those of any prominence.

Chaffetz’ time as Chairman of the Oversight Committee has certainly drawn a spotlight. The coverage of the Benghazi hearings left many frustrated that nobody had been held accountable for events that led to the death of four Americans in Libya, in 2012. The event was covered up by the Obama administration, who desperately needed to give the impression that Obama, the great peace maker, had quelled the violence of extremists in the region, as a campaign tool for his reelection bid.

With Utah’s Governor Gary Herbert leaving in 2020, we may see Chaffetz reemerge at state level leadership, before he takes a shot at leading the nation.