Rep. Matt Gaetz (R)
Former Florida Scumbag, Current GOP Scumbag, T-Rump Scumbag, And Reptilian Party Scumbag, And Based On His Past Record, A Certified Florida Useless Politician, And Possible Minor Sex Trafficking… Currently Under Investigation...
POSITION: Member of the US House of Representatives: Florida’s 1st district and
His position is Horizontal with lots of women, possibly one underage.
Incumbent Assumed office January 3, 2017
History: Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 4th district
In Office: April 13, 2010 – November 8, 2016
Born: Matthew Louis Gaetz II May 7, 1982 (age 38) Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
Political party: Republican
Domestic partner: Ginger Luckey (2020 — engaged) If smart she’ll bail on this scumbag… or offer to decorate his jail cell...
Parents: Don Gaetz and Victoria Quertermous
Education: Florida State University (BS) College of William and Mary(JD)
LATEST NEWS:
Something that’s been made abundantly clear over the last few years is that there is no minimum IQ requirement to serve in Congress (or, obviously, the White House). There are numerous examples of this to choose from, including but not limited to other represented by T-RUMPS Magnum Scumbag Products.
Even Later News — Elie Hoenig —
( CNN) This needs to be said right up front about the pending Justice Department investigation of Rep. Matt Gaetz: there's still a lot that we don't know. He has steadfastly, even furiously, denied any wrongdoing. But the facts that have emerged -- including new CNN reporting that federal prosecutors are attempting to obtain cooperation from Gaetz's ex-girlfriend -- seem likely to paint a bleak picture for Gaetz moving forward.
Joel Greenberg. Gaetz’s onetime pal and political ally Joel Greenberg -- who faces a 33-count federal indictment, charged with crimes ranging from sex trafficking of a minor to bribery to identity theft to stalking -- reportedly is cooperating with federal prosecutors and providing information about Gaetz's conduct, including alleged encounters with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex. Greenberg has until the end of this week to finalize any plea agreement with prosecutors.
SIDEBAR — Joel, you have to go for it and helping the feds since with thirty-three counts, the only thing you might get to keep if you co-operate with them are your balls.
On one hand, if Greenberg does turn on Gaetz, Gaetz will have ample basis to attack Greenberg and call his credibility into question. Greenberg would then have to admit extensive criminality as part of any cooperation agreement, and, should he do this, would have an incentive to try to reduce his own potential sentencing exposure by leading federal authorities to other targets. The big question, then -- as it always is with cooperating witnesses -- would be whether any information Greenberg might provide is corroborated by other, independent evidence. Which leads us to ...
The ex-girlfriend. If I'm a prosecutor building a case around Greenberg, I'm not taking him at his word on any key issue; rather, I'm going to need independent confirmation of key points of his testimony. If the Justice Department obtains cooperation from Gaetz's ex-girlfriend, then she might be the right witness to provide that crucial support. If her testimony is consistent with Greenberg's, then prosecutors are on strong footing; if not, or if she refuses to testify and there are no other witnesses who can back Greenberg, then the case gets shaky. Crucially, the ex-girlfriend is believed to have knowledge of certain relevant financial transactions of which the FBI has obtained records, sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. Prosecutors, therefore, are sure to attempt to sit with her and review those financial records.
What It Would Take For The GOP To Dump Gaetz — The receipts — We know that Greenberg has led federal investigators to at least some independent evidence that could be used to support his account of alleged wrongdoing by Gaetz. In a letter, obtained by the Daily Beast, Greenberg wrote that he and Gaetz paid for sex, including with a minor who was 17 at the time. A Gaetz spokesperson told CNN in a statement that, “ Congressman Gaetz has never paid for sex, nor has he had sex with a 17 year old as an adult."
If Greenberg is in fact cooperating, federal prosecutors will work meticulously with him to identify any and all financial records and other evidence that could detail Gaetz's conduct.
Gaetz's own statements. The smartest thing that the subject of any criminal investigation can dois to shut up. Not Gaetz; within hours of news breaking about the investigation, he appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show and made statements that could come back to haunt him. At one point, Gaetz acknowledged the existence of a woman who might be relevant to the case, and said that he had gone to dinner with her and Carlson at some point. Carlson quickly moved to distance himself, responding, "I don't remember the woman you are speaking of or the context at all, honestly." If the woman to whom Gaetz referred in the interview does become relevant to the case, it will be impossible for his lawyers to argue that he doesn't know her or has never had a relationship with her.
Matt Gaetz’s Diversionary Tactics Aren’t Working — The investigation. The Justice Department investigation dates back to 2020, when it was initiated under the Trump administration and then Attorney General William Barr. That matters, first, because it will be difficult for Gaetz to claim that he is the victim of a partisan "witch hunt," to borrow a favorite phrase of former President Donald Trump. And the timeline undercuts Gaetz's claim that the allegations against him are part of a broader scheme to extort him and his family. His claims that the extortion attempt began in March 2021, yet we know the criminal investigation predates that by several months.
The potential charges. Gaetz reportedly is under investigation for crimes including sex trafficking (he denies the allegations).
If federal prosecutors prove that Gaetz engaged not only in sex trafficking but in sex trafficking of a minor (as currently alleged in the indictment against Greenberg) -- and, again, there still remains much that we do not know -- that charge is one of the most serious in the federal criminal system, carrying a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. Federal authorities also reportedly are investigating whether he took gifts, including travel and paid escorts, in exchange for political favors and whether he shared drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, with women during parties, as has been described to CNN by two women who attended several parties they said were attended by Gaetz over the past few years. Both spoke on condition of anonymity. (A spokesman for Gaetz did not respond directly to CNN's request for comment but challenged the use of anonymous sources.)
The Justice Department investigation is ongoing, and it remains to be seen whether the evidence will be sufficient to support criminal charges against Gaetz. But the currently available public indicators should give him serious cause for concern.
Per the Daily Beast —
- In two late-night Venmo transactions in May 2018, Rep. Matt Gaetz sent his friend, the accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg, $900.
- The next morning, over the course of eight minutes, Greenberg used the same app to send three young women varying sums of money. In total, the transactions amounted to $900.
- The memo field for the first of Gaetz’s transactions to Greenberg was titled “Test.” In the second, the Florida GOP congressman wrote “ hit up ___.” But instead of a blank, Gaetz wrote a nickname for one of the recipients. (The Daily Beast is not sharing that nickname because the teenager had only turned 18 less than six months before.)
- When Greenberg then made his Venom payments to these three young women, he described the money as being for “Tuition,” “School,” and “School.”
- Gaetz and Greenberg are both connected through Venmo to this then 18-year-old woman—who now works in the porn industry, according to a friend of the girl’s.... Greenberg and Gaetz are also connected on Venmo to at least one other woman whom Greenberg paid with taxpayer funds using a government-issued credit card.
- Seminole County auditors flagged hundreds of those payments as “questioned or unaccounted for,” and in total found more than $300,000 in suspicious or unjustified expenses.... Gaetz and Greenberg share Venmo connections with at least two women who received payments from Greenberg, and both have professional relationships with each other.
- “No one has any idea what he was doing. Zero,” Daniel J. O’Keefe, an accountant who conducted a forensic audit for Seminole County, told the Daily Beast. “The arrogance of these guys. They just felt they were above the law. I’ve never seen it this bad.”
- O‘Keefe said that, in particular, hotels, weekend expenses, unspecified high-dollar “consulting” fees, and cash advances Greenberg made to himself and others raised a red flag. Reporters Jose Pagliery and Roger Sollenberger compared Greenberg’s Venmo transactions and credit card statements to Gaetz’s travel records and expenses, finding that “in some key places, the two timelines and circles of contact overlap.”
- As the Daily Beast reported the story, Gaetz’s previously public list of Venmo transactions mysteriously disappeared, though of course the company will have retained such records should a grand jury need to see them in the future.
- Greenberg, who was first indicted last year and has now been charged on 33 counts, including sex trafficking of a minor, bribery, stalking, and defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program, was recently arrested again after violating the terms of his bond.
- At the end of last month, The New York Times reported that the Justice Department was probing Gaetz for allegedly having sex with a minor and transporting her across state lines; the minor in question is said to be the same one Greenberg was charged with trafficking. The two men, who are close friends—Greenberg has been described as Gaetz’s “wingman”—also allegedly slept with some of the same women they’re accused of paying for sex.
- And in no-good-very-bad news for Gaetz, on Thursday, a court hearing indicated that his good pal Greenberg will likely be cooperating with the feds, a turn of events the former tax collector’s lawyer suggested was not a positive development for the Florida representative.
- “I’m sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today,” Greenberg’s attorney told reporters. (Greenberg previously denied the charges against him but is expected to plead guilty as part of a cooperation deal with prosecutors.)
- Gaetz has denied all the accusations against him, writing in an op-ed earlier this week that he has no plans to resign. While his office did not respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment, a spokesperson from an outside P.R. firm suggested Gaetz plans to sue multiple parties for discussing the allegations against him. “The rumors, gossip, and self-serving misstatements of others will be addressed in due course by my legal team,” the statement said. In an additional comment, another person from the same public relations firm—who happens to be a pro-Trump pundit and former Apprentice contestant—added that a lawyer would be “closely monitoring [the Daily Beast‘s] coverage.”
Matthew Louis Gaetz II — is a scumbag first and it goes downhill from there, a liar and sycophant for T-RUMP, and an American politician and lawyer serving as the US representative for Florida’s 1st congressional district since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, his district covers a large portion of the western Florida Panhandle, including Pensacola, Destin, Navarre and his hometown, Fort Walton Beach.
From 2010 to 2016, Gaetz represented Florida's 4th House district in the Florida House of Representatives, which includes most of Okaloosa County. He was elected to the U.S. House in 2016, and reelected by large margins in 2018 and 2020. In the House, he became known as a strong ally and supporter of President Donald T-RUMP.
He has a reputation of being a bigmouth, loudmouth, lying mouth and scumbag. A perfect example of Florida politics, with close ties to the other Reptilian liars and scumbags like Rubio, Herr Von De Santis, and Rick Scott.
He is under investigation for ka-noodling with a seventeen year-old… and other sick deeds, basically a pervert and liar.
Early life — Matthew L. Gaetz II was born on May 7, 1982, in Hollywood, Florida, to Victoria Quertermous and Don Gaetz, who later became a prominent local politician. Gaetz grew up near Fort Walton Beach, and graduated from Niceville High School in 2000. He graduated from Florida State University in 2003 with a B.S. in interdisciplinary sciences and then received a J.D. from the College of William & Mary Law School in 2007.
Gaetz's father represented parts of Northwest Florida as a member of the Florida State Senate from 2006 to 2016 and was Senate president from 2012 to 2014. After graduating from William and Mary Law School, Gaetz worked at a law firm in Fort Walton Beach.
Florida House of Representatives — Good Company For a Crook —
Gaetz with Rick Scott in 2010, Rick Scott our Crooked Governor paid back 1.7 Billion dollars he stole from Medicare and Medicade to prevent him going to jail.
During his tenure as chief executive, the company defrauded Medicare, Medicaid and other federal programs. The Department of Justice ultimately fined the company $1.7 billion in what was at the time the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history.
In March 2010, following Republican state representative Ray Sansom’s resignation on corruption charges in February 2010, Gaetz ran in the special election to succeed Sansom in the 4th district, which included southern Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County. In a crowded Republican primary that included Craig Barker, Kabe Woods, Jerry G. Melvin, and Bill Garvie, Gaetz won with 43% of the vote. In the special general election, Gaetz defeated Democratic nominee Jan Fernando with 66% of the vote. During his campaign, Gaetz received almost $480,000 in contributions, about five times more than anyone else in the field, and almost 50 times more than Fernald, including $100,000 of his own money.
Gaetz was unopposed for a full term in 2010. In 2012, following the reconfiguration of Florida House of Representatives districts, Gaetz's district no longer contained any of Santa Rosa County. He was reelected unopposed in 2012 and 2014.
While serving in the state house, Gaetz and State Senator Joe Negron proposed legislation that would hasten the execution of many inmates on Florida’s death row by requiring the governor to sign a death warrant for those who had exhausted their appeals. He also joined State Senator Greg Evers in proposing legislation to eliminate the federal ethanol content mandate that 10% of gasoline sold in Florida contain ethanol; Governor Rick Scott signed the legislation in May 2013.
Following George Zimmerman’s trial for the shooting of Trayvon Martin, Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford announced that he would order hearings on the stand-your-ground law that was a focal point of the trial.
Gaetz, the chairman of the Criminal Justice Subcommittee, was tasked with reviewing the legislation; he announced before hearings that he would not support changing “one damn comma”, but said he would listen to both sides' testimony.
After the hearings, he authored legislation to allow defendants who successfully used a stand-your-ground defense during trial to be able to expunge relevant information from their criminal records.
When his subcommittee was considering legislation that would keep suspects’ mugshots off the Internet until their convictions, Gaetz brought up his 2008 arrest and non-conviction, arguing that his mistakes made him who he is and that publicly available mugshots “could be a problem for those unaccustomed to publicity."
US House of Representatives: Elections — In 2013, Gaetz announced that, in 2016, he would run for the 1st District State Senate seat then held by his father, Don Gaetz, who would be term-limited out of the Senate in 2016
On March 21, 2016, Gaetz withdrew from the race, choosing instead to run for the US House seat representing Florida's 1st congressional district; the incumbent, Jeff Miller, had announced 11 days earlier that he would not seek reelection.
On August 30, 2016, Gaetz won the Republican primary with 35.7% of the vote, defeating Greg Evers, Cris Dosev, and five other candidates. This virtually assured Gaetz of victory in the general election; with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+22, the 1st is Florida's most Republican district, and one of the most Republican in the nation.
In the November 8 general election, Gaetz defeated Democratic nominee Steven Specht with 69% of the vote. He is only the seventh person to represent this district since 1933 (the district was numbered the 3rd before 1963).
Though a financial disclosure form Gaetz filed in 2016 showed a net worth of $388,000, he donated $200,000 of his own money to his congressional campaign. He also resigned from two Florida House political action committees he had started and chaired; the PACs closed down and transferred $380,000 to a federal super-PAC, North Florida Neighbors, whose purpose was support Gaetz’s congressional campaign.
Rep. Matt Gaetz @RepMattGaetz Said — Never bow to the mob…My Reply: Florida’s least safest driver, boozer and state congressman does not warrant a comment as he is a certified imbecile 5th degree and a big dumbass mouth… trying to make name for himself other than someone saying, “ What did that frickin idiot just say” ?
Charges Brought Forth and Quashed — Tampa Bay Times, Feb. 18, 2014: Near midnight, Okaloosa County Deputy Chris Anglin clocked Gaetz going 48 in a 35 mph zone. Angolan later reported that Gaetz fumbled for his license and registration, his eyes were watery and bloodshot, and he swayed and staggered when he got out of the car. Smelling alcohol, Anglin asked Gaetz if he had been drinking. Gaetz replied no. Minutes later, he admitted he had consumed two beers. Twice, Anglin conducted an eye test. Twice, Gaetz’s eyes didn’t follow the prompt.
Gaetz, who had recently begun practicing law, declined any field sobriety tests. He was arrested and refused the breath test. Less than a week later, Gaetz had his driver’s license reinstated. A field officer for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles declared there was no evidence that Gaetz refused a breath test.
Yet the refusal was clearly documented in Anglin’s affidavit and arrest report. It even was documented in Pinkerton’s Dec. 18 motion to dismiss charges against Gaetz. (Coverup)
This three-page document, which Gaetz signed, states there was no evidence that he had been impaired. There was no mention of many of Anglin’s observations suggesting that Gaetz was impaired.
It added a new detail: “A civilian witness drove by who knew (Gaetz) and observed no indication of impairment.” Yet the witness was not named, either in Pinkerton’s document or other case records at the Okaloosa County Clerk’s Office. ( Coverup) Still, this anonymous testimony is all that contradicted Anglin’s conclusion that there was probable cause to arrest Gaetz on DUI.
Meadows accepted Pinkerton’s motion and agreed to drop the case on Dec. 22, 2008. And while we found numerous traffic violations, such as speeding tickets, against Gaetz in Okaloosa County, we did not find any other cases in which Gaetz was charged with a DUI to support the contention that he has had “numerous DUIs.” Just speeding alone kills people, it does not require a DUI. Daddy had a lot of influence.
A New Problem Involving Possible Underage Affair — Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), one of the nation's rising-star conservative firebrands, told Axios he is under federal investigation for sexual activity with women, and fears being criminally charged.
What he's saying: "The allegations against me are as searing as they are false," Gaetz said in a 13-minute phone interview with Axios. "I believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to criminalize my sexual conduct, you know when I was a single guy."
- Axios reported earlier Tuesday that Gaetz has privately told confidants he's seriously considering not seeking re-election, and possibly leaving Congress early for a job at Newsmax.
The big picture: Gaetz, 38, said the specifics of the allegations are "unclear," and he said he's been told "very little." But the New York Times reported late Tuesday afternoon that the Justice Department is investigating Gaetz “ Over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him."
- "The allegations of sexual misconduct against me are false," Gaetz told Axios. "They are rooted in an extortion effort against my family for $25 million … in exchange for making this case go away."
Of note: He later said in a statement released Tuesday night that he and his family had over the past several weeks "been victims of an organized criminal extortion involving a former DOJ official seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name."
- "We have been cooperating with federal authorities in this matter and my father has even been wearing a wire at the FBI’s direction to catch these criminals," he added.
"The planted leak to the New York Times tonight was intended to thwart that investigation. No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets of the ongoing extortion investigation. I demand the DOJ immediately release the tapes, made at their direction, which implicate their former colleague in crimes against me based on false allegations."
For the record: Gaetz sent Axios screenshots of text messages, emails and documents outlining the alleged extortion scheme, which he claimed was being run by a former DOJ employee.
- The Justice Department declined to comment.
- Sounding shaken, Gaetz told Axios that for weeks, he and his father been working with the FBI in the Northern District of Florida on the extortion case. Gaetz said his lawyers were informed by the Justice Department that, "I was not a target but a subject of an investigation regarding sexual conduct with women."
- Asked what the charges could relate to, Gaetz said: "I have definitely, in my single days, provided for women I've dated. You know, I've paid for flights, for hotel rooms. I’ve been, you know, generous as a partner. I think someone is trying to make that look criminal when it is not."
- Gaetz said he was "absolutely" confident none of the women were underage.
Tenure:
On September 25, 2016, following the death of Miami Marlins pitcher José Fernández, Gaetz criticized the athletes protesting during the national anthem in a tweet.
Gaetz was listed as a member of the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership from at least January to June 2017.
In 2019, Gaetz told acquaintances that he could run for the Senate in Alabama in 2020; the state borders his district. He later decided against running.
After the 2020 State of the Union Address, Gaetz filed an ethics complaint against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, claiming she had committed a "flagrant violation of decorum" and perhaps broken the law when she ripped up her copy of the speech.
In February 2020, Gaetz announced that he will no longer accept campaign contributions from federal PACs.
New Charges Possible (CNN) 04/02/2021 — Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican being investigated by the Justice Department over sex trafficking allegations, made a name for himself when he arrived on Capitol Hill as a conservative firebrand on TV and staunch defender of then-President Donald Trump. Behind the scenes, Gaetz gained a reputation in Congress over his relationships with women and bragging about his sexual escapades to his colleagues, multiple sources told CNN.
Gaetz allegedly showed off to other lawmakers photos and videos of nude women he said he had slept with, the sources told CNN, including while on the House floor. The sources, including two people directly shown the material, said Gaetz displayed the images of women on his phone and talked about having sex with them. One of the videos showed a naked woman with a hula hoop, according to one source.
This Guy Is A Scumbag, Liar And Basically Suffering From T-Rump Syndrome The Dreaded “ Sh*T For Brains Thinking ( Medically Called Crainial-Rectal Dyslexia)
“It was a point of pride," one of the sources said of Gaetz. Feds’ investigation of Matt Gaetz includes whether campaign funds were used to pay for travel and expenses There's no indication these pictures are connected to the DOJ investigation.
Gaetz, 38, who was elected to Congress in 2016, has been at the center of a number of controversies in his four-plus years in Congress. But he's now embroiled in easily his biggest scandal yet, after the Justice Department began investigating him in the final months of the Trump administration under then-Attorney General William Barr as part of a larger investigation into another Florida politician. Federal investigators are examining whether Gaetz engaged in a relationship with a woman that began when she was 17 years old and whether his involvement with other young women broke federal sex trafficking and prostitution laws, two people briefed on the matter said.
Gaetz has denied the allegations, saying "no part of the allegations against me are true," and he claimed Tuesday that he was the victim of an extortion plot, which the FBI is separately investigating.
"Over the past several weeks my family and I have been victims of an organized criminal extortion involving a former DOJ official seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name. We have been cooperating with federal authorities in this matter and my father has even been wearing a wire at the FBI's direction to catch these criminals," Gaetz said in a statement. Gaetz and a spokesperson for Gaetz did not respond to requests for comment on the images and videos he allegedly showed to lawmakers.
After the DOJ investigation into Gaetz surfaced this week, there were a handful of Republicans in Congress who defended him, speaking out on his behalf, including both Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. But many House Republicans stayed quiet.
Nothing like being endorsed by two of the worst Congressional party representatives. Jim Jordan a real Reptilian shill, twister, shyster, liar and Margarine Greene ( No real butter here) who just was removed from all committees for some really prejudiced words and stands she took disrupting Congress.
The One *Big* Problem With Matt Gaetz’s Explanation — House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday there were “ serious implications" involving the DOJ allegations, adding that he would remove Gaetz from the Judiciary Committee if they were proven true.
"I haven't heard anything from the DOJ or others, but I will deal with it if anything comes to be true" McCarthy said in response to a question from CNN at a town hall event in Iowa.
Gaetz made a name for himself on conservative television soon upon his arrival to Congress in 2017, where he's often been a thorn in the side of House Republican leadership while aligning himself closely with the Freedom Caucus and Trump during his presidency. Gaetz has been a constant presence on both Newsmax and Fox News -- much more than any typical rank-and-file House member -- and he turned to Fox soon after the allegations surfaced Tuesday.
At one point during Gaetz's first term, staff for then-House Speaker Paul Ryan held a short meeting with Gaetz in the Capitol, where they had a discussion with Gaetz about acting professionally while in Congress, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting. One source said the conversation wasn't tied to a specific incident. Ryan didn't directly have a conversation with Gaetz.
Gaetz's spokesperson denied that he was ever reprimanded by Ryan or his staff. “ hat did not happen, no meeting with the speaker or his staff," the spokesperson said. Hours before the news broke Tuesday of the investigation involving Gaetz, Axios reported he was considering leaving Congress for a job at the conservative television station Newsmax.
Axios, Fox, NewsMax are the favored retirement homes for scumbags and liars who get caught in Congress and resign rather than face charges of their guilt, he should be thrown out and dis-barred as a lawyer.
On Capitol Hill, Gaetz has a number of headline-grabbing incidents to his credit, both at the Capitol and on Twitter.
- Gaetz seen with a gas mask in early 2020.
- Gaetz was one of the most vocal backers of Trump’s lie after the 2020 election that the election was stolen from him.
- After 10 Republicans voted to impeach T-RUMP in January, Gaetz personally took up the task of trying to oust the House's GOP conference chair Liz Cheney, the highest-ranking Republican to support impeachment, traveling to Wyoming to hold a rally against Cheney in her home state.
- In March 2020, when the scale of the Covid-19 pandemic was not yet clear, Gaetz wore a gas mask on the floor of the House during the first vote on an emergency funding bill for the COVID-19 response.
- Gaetz was admonished last year by the House Ethics Committee for a tweet threatening Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen ahead of his 2019 testimony before the House Oversight Committee. The committee found the tweet "did not violate witness tampering and obstruction of Congress laws" but did not "reflect creditably" upon the House. The Florida bar also investigated the case and cleared Gaetz. He apologized for the tweet.
- Later that year, Gaetz led a band of House Republicans who barged into a closed-door House impeachment inquiry interview, occupying the House Intelligence Committee spaces for several hours in a publicity stunt to protest the investigation that would lead to Trump’s first impeachment.
- Gaetz has also found himself in hot water over his spending practices. Politico reported last year that Gaetz improperly sent $28,000 to pay an LLC affiliated with a speech-writing consultant. Gaetz’s office returned the funds to the House and said it was a “glorified clerical error."
- Tucker Carlson livid after Rep. Matt Gaetz tries to rope him into controversy, source says
- One of Gaetz's official actions as a member of Congress is also gaining fresh scrutiny in the wake of the DOJ investigation. In 2017, Gaetz was the one member of Congress to vote against a bill designed to create a coordinator in the Department of Transportation responsible for helping states develop policies to prevent human trafficking.
- At the time, Gaetz did a Facebook Live broadcast defending his vote. He said he voted no because he felt the existing Transportation Department staffing should’ve been able to handle the task, and he was sent to Washington to stop the expansion of the federal government.
- (CNN)In response to stunning New York Times reporting that the Justice Department is investigating a possible sexual relationship between Matt Gaetz and a 17-year-old girl, the Florida Republican congressman vehemently denied the accusation and told a broader story of intrigue involving himself and his father.
- "Over the past several weeks my family and I have been victims of an organized criminal extortion involving a former DOJ official seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name. We have been cooperating with federal authorities in this matter and my father has even been wearing a wire at the FBI’s direction to catch these criminals."
- "The planted leak to the New York Times tonight was intended to thwart that investigation. No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets of the ongoing extortion investigation. I demand the DOJ immediately release the tapes, made at their direction, which implicate their former colleague in crimes against me based on false allegations.”
- Just to be totally clear, here’s where we are: A sitting member of Congress is saying that he is the victim of an extortion effort by a former Justice Department official involving a made-up 17-year-old girl and a made-up relationship with her.
- Which is a “ bigly” allegation, like, a broad-scale extortion effort involving a former DOJ official? Man can he make up bullsh*t! he needs to go…
- The problem with Gaetz’s explanation that this is all one big misunderstanding -- and his calls for the FBI and Department of Justice to clear things up -- is this: The Department of Justice isn't saying anything.
- The Department of Justice declined to comment to CNN on Tuesday night. In a statement to CNN, the FBI in Jacksonville said, "The FBI declines to confirm nor deny the existence or status of an investigation. We refer you to the Department of Justice for further comment regarding this report.”
- Which, well, seems to matter. Because, if Gaetz's allegations are totally accurate, it would seem incumbent upon the DOJ and/or the FBI to say so. Allegations that a 38-year-old member of Congress had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and may have paid for her to travel with him are serious.
- The Justice Department is even investigating whether Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, according to The New York Times report. If they are entirely inaccurate — and if the teenager is, as Gaetz claims, entirely fictional -- then the FBI and DOJ not saying so could, after a while, amount to character assassination. And yet, neither the DOJ or FBI has said anything — amid repeated requests from media organizations to do so.
- Worth noting for people alleging that this is a political hit on Gaetz, a major ally of former President Donald T-RUMP The investigation began in the final months of the Trump presidency, while Bill Barr was still the Attorney General.
- Of course, the silence -- at least at the moment -- from the DOJ and FBI isn't conclusive vis a vis Gaetz. Ongoing investigations are rarely commented on. But ongoing investigations very rarely deal with a very high-profile member of Congress like Gaetz who is telling anyone who will listen that this is all a sham and he is the real victim.
- Keep an eye on the DOJ and FBI. Continued silence — assuming Gaetz doesn’t back down from his allegations -- may well be telling.
More Sh*T About A Pile Of Sh*T — The New York Times said Gaetz and his friend used Apple Pay and Cash App for drug-fueled sexual encounters in Florida hotels. The New York Times dropped another bombshell report about Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Thursday night containing new details about alleged criminal activity at the heart of a federal investigation.
The newspaper reported that Gaetz and his friend, Joel Greenberg, who was indicted last year on federal sex trafficking charges, recruited women online for sex and sent them money via Cash App and Apple Pay. Although Times reporters reviewed text messages related to the encounters as well as the payment receipts, the newspaper said some payments were made via cash from hotel ATMs in Florida.
Some of the people involved in the encounters, including Gaetz, would take the drug ecstasy before sex, the Times reported. The congressman and a former official in Florida sent money to the women using cash apps, receipts showed.
WASHINGTON — A Justice Department investigation into Representative Matt Gaetz and an indicted Florida politician is focusing on their involvement with multiple women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments, according to people close to the investigation and text messages and payment receipts reviewed by The New York Times.
Investigators believe Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector in Seminole County, Fla., who was indicted last year on a federal sex trafficking charge and other crimes, initially met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates in exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and allowances, according to three people with knowledge of the encounters. Mr. Greenberg introduced the women to Mr. Gaetz, who also had sex with them, the people said.
One of the women who had sex with both men also agreed to have sex with an unidentified associate of theirs in Florida Republican politics, according to a person familiar with the arrangement. Mr. Greenberg had initially contacted her online and introduced her to Mr. Gaetz, the person said.
Mr. Gaetz Denied Ever Paying A Woman For Sex — The Justice Department inquiry is also examining whether Mr. Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl and whether she received anything of material value, according to four people familiar with the investigation. The sex trafficking count against Mr. Greenberg involved the same girl, according to two people briefed on the investigation.
The authorities have also investigated whether other men connected to Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg had sex with the 17-year-old, two of the people said.
The Times has reviewed receipts from Cash App, a mobile payments app, and Apple Pay that show payments from Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg to one of the women, and a payment from Mr. Greenberg to a second woman. The women told their friends that the payments were for sex with the two men, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
In encounters during 2019 and 2020, Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg instructed the women to meet at certain times and places, often at hotels around Florida, and would tell them the amount of money they were willing to pay, according to the messages and interviews.
It Was Said That The Men Also Paid In Cash, Withdrawn From A Hotel Atm — Some of the men and women took ecstasy, an illegal mood-altering drug, before having sex, including Mr. Gaetz, two people familiar with the encounters said.
The Times broke the story earlier this week that Gaetz was under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl and paying for her to cross state lines, which would violate federal sex trafficking laws.
Gaetz denied the allegations, telling Axios that any gifts to women were just because he was “generous as a partner.” He again denied the accusations ― and said there was no 17-year-old ― during a Fox News appearance earlier this week that host Tucker Carlson called “one of the weirdest interviews I’ve ever conducted.”
Gaetz also claimed that he was the victim of an extortion plot. One insider said that such an investigation would not necessarily exonerate Gaetz. “You can both be the victim of a crime and a criminal yourself,” former Department of Justice spokesperson Matthew Miller said on MSNBC.
Earlier on Thursday, CNN reported that multiple sources said Gaetz would show nude photos of his sexual partners to congressional colleagues while bragging about his escapades.
Ongoing Saga — (CNN)A man tied to the allegations of extortion pushed by Rep. Matt Gaetz said Monday evening that the Republican lawmaker is "trying to direct attention from himself" as Gaetz faces a Justice Department probe.
Bob Kent, a former Air Force intelligence officer, told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "Prime Time" that -- despite Gaetz's claims -- he never tried to extort money from Gaetz's father, and that such claims are not part of the Justice Department investigation into allegations involving sex trafficking and prostitution.
"There were no threats," Kent said. “There were no demands." The Washington Post reported last week that Gaetz's father, Don Gaetz, was presented with a proposal by two men to help his son if he donated a sum of money to fund the effort to locate Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent kidnapped in Iran, it could help his son's situation.
The Washington Examiner later said it had obtained documents in Matt Gaetz's possession purporting to lay out the alleged extortion scheme. The documents included a text message -- which Don Gaetz told the newspaper was from Kent -- saying the sender could make Matt Gaetz's "future legal and political problems go away" and an unsigned document titled "project homecoming." The document had no markings indicating the author.
That document suggested the FBI "became aware of compromising pictures" of Matt Gaetz and another election official involved with "underage prostitutes" during an unrelated investigation into political corruption. It suggests that Don Gaetz can mitigate his son's potential legal troubles by arranging for the funds needed to release Levinson from captivity in Iran.
But Kent -- who acknowledged sending the text in the interview with Cuomo -- maintained Monday evening that his communications with Don Gaetz weren't part of an extortion plot.
"When I left, the last thing I told Don Gaetz was that you'll never hear from me again. I'm not a threat to you or your son. I won't talk to the press. I'm not going to say a bad word about him," he said.
Matt Gaetz has named former Department of Justice prosecutor David McGee as being involved in the alleged plot as well, something McGee denies.
The Florida lawmaker began pushing his claims of extortion after it became public that the Justice Department is investigating him over allegations involving sex trafficking and prostitution, including involving a minor, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
Federal investigators are examining whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, CNN and the New York Times have reported. The Times first disclosed the investigation into Gaetz.
A person briefed on the probe confirmed to CNN that federal authorities were investigating Gaetz as part of a broader probe into trafficking allegations against another Florida politician, an investigation that began in the closing months of the Trump-era Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr.
CNN has previously reported that investigators are examining whether Gaetz's involvement with other young women broke federal sex trafficking and prostitution laws, according to the person briefed on the probe and another person briefed on the matter. Investigators are also pursuing allegations from witnesses and other evidence that Gaetz may have used cash and drugs in his dealings with young women, the sources said.
Gaetz has not been charged with any crimes and has called the allegations against him false. The Gaetz investigation is still in its early stages, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Bottom Line Gaetz Is a T-RUMP Clone, Prostitutes, Alleged Underage, Collusions, Lies, Scumbag Antics, And A Big Mouth Are Just T-RUMP Habits That Come With The Package, He Thought T-Rump Could Pardon Him.
(CNN) Rep. Matt Gaetz privately sought blanket preemptive pardons for himself and his congressional allies during the final weeks of Donald Trump's presidency, two people familiar with the discussions told The New York Times.
The Florida Republican's request was viewed by White House officials as a nonstarter, the people told the Times, and was ultimately never granted.
But the effort fuels fresh scrutiny of Gaetz after it became public that the Justice Department is investigating him over allegations involving sex trafficking and prostitution, including involving a minor, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
The Times reported Tuesday that it's unclear what Gaetz knew of the inquiry at the time of his request, and he didn't tell White House aides when he sought the pardons that he was under investigation.
Some Trump associates have theorized in recent days that Gaetz's request for multiple pardons -- not just for himself -- was a move to disguise his own potential legal exposure, the newspaper said.
A spokesperson for Gaetz, however, denied to the Times that his pardon request was related to the Justice Department investigation. "Entry-level political operatives have conflated a pardon call from Representative Gaetz -- where he called for President Trump to pardon 'everyone from himself, to his administration, to Joe Exotic' -- with these false and increasingly bizarre, partisan allegations against him," the spokesperson told the outlet.
"Those comments have been on the record for some time, and President Trump even retweeted the congressman, who tweeted them out himself."
Gaetz has denied all allegations against him since news broke that federal investigators are examining whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, CNN and The New York Times have reported. The Times first disclosed the investigation into Gaetz.
A person briefed on the probe confirmed to CNN that federal authorities were investigating Gaetz as part of a broader probe into trafficking allegations against another Florida politician, an investigation that began in the closing months of the Trump-era Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr.
CNN has previously reported that investigators are examining whether Gaetz's involvement with other young women broke federal sex-trafficking and prostitution laws, according to the person briefed on the probe and another person briefed on the matter. Investigators are also pursuing allegations from witnesses and other evidence that Gaetz may have used cash and drugs in his dealings with young women, the sources said.
Gaetz has not been charged with any crimes and the investigation is still in its early stages, according to sources familiar with the matter.