Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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On Tuesday, a bombshell report in The New York Times revealed that outspoken pro-Trump Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is being investigated as part of a federal sex trafficking probe, into a possible relationship he had with a 17-year-old girl who he may have paid to travel across state lines.

"Investigators are examining whether Mr. Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, the people said. A variety of federal statutes make it illegal to induce someone under 18 to travel over state lines to engage in sex in exchange for money or something of value. The Justice Department regularly prosecutes such cases, and offenders often receive severe sentences," reported Michael Schmidt and Katie Benner. "It was not clear how Mr. Gaetz met the girl, believed to be 17 at the time of encounters about two years ago that investigators are scrutinizing, according to two of the people."

"The three people said that the examination of Mr. Gaetz, 38, is part of a broader investigation into a political ally of his, a local official in Florida named Joel Greenberg, who was indicted last summer on an array of charges, including sex trafficking of a child and financially supporting people in exchange for sex, at least one of whom was an underage girl," said the report. "Mr. Greenberg, who has since resigned his post as tax collector in Seminole County, north of Orlando, visited the White House with Mr. Gaetz in 2019, according to a photograph that Mr. Greenberg posted on Twitter."

"No charges have been brought against Mr. Gaetz, and the extent of his criminal exposure is unclear," said the report. "Mr. Gaetz said in an interview that his lawyers had been in touch with the Justice Department and that they were told he was the subject, not the target, of an investigation."
https://www.rawstory.com/matt-gaetz-tra ... ationship/

Will he claim privileged immunity for being a Craven Congress Critter or just stupidity. Maybe he is part of the Pizzagate sex ring the Rethugs and Qanon keep talking about. That would explain a lot. It isn't the Dems and Hillary running the pedophile ring from the New York Pizza parlor basement, but it is the Repugs running it from Florida. Maybe the Feds should check to see if Mar-a-lago has a basement.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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Today the worst accusation you can level at a man is being a pedophile, so naturally it becomes a staple of conspiracy theories against liberals, Democrats, and anybody who is not a rabid conservative. Some qonservatives out there are even spreading an unfounded rumor that Tom Hanks is a pedo, just because he’s not a Repub. I enjoy the irony that more Repub politicians are discovered as pedos.
Glad that federal government is boring again.

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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Stiff wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 7:08 pm Today the worst accusation you can level at a man is being a pedophile, so naturally it becomes a staple of conspiracy theories against liberals, Democrats, and anybody who is not a rabid conservative. Some qonservatives out there are even spreading an unfounded rumor that Tom Hanks is a pedo, just because he’s not a Repub. I enjoy the irony that more Repub politicians are discovered as pedos.
Classic projection... yet again.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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Matt Gaetz admits he gave money to 'ex-girlfriend' — and claims that's why he's under investigation

Gaetz admitted that he gave a girl money, calling her an "ex-girlfriend," Axios reported.

"The allegations against me are as searing as they are false," Gaetz told Axios in a 13-minute call. "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."

He said that he's not being told anything about the investigation and has no details.

"The allegations of sexual misconduct against me are false," Gaetz also claimed, saying a former Justice Department official was trying to extort him. "They are rooted in an extortion effort against my family for $25 million … in exchange for making this case go away."

Over the past several weeks my family and I have been victims of an organized criminal extortion involving a former… https://t.co/KThXwrN8mn
— Matt Gaetz (@Matt Gaetz)1617144624.0
"I was not a target but a subject of an investigation regarding sexual conduct with women," Gaetz also explained.
https://www.rawstory.com/matt-gaetz-mo ... afficking/

Is the former Justice Department official one of the Trump Officals?

He didn’t know taking an underage person across a state line for sex is a federal crime.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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Tucker Carlson calls Matt Gaetz interview on sex trafficking scandal 'weirdest interviews I’ve ever conducted'

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) first responded to the news that he was the subject of an investigation into child sex trafficking by saying that the investigation was a fraud.

Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday evening, Gaetz alleged that he was simply "generous" to his girlfriend, though he didn't reveal how old that now ex-girlfriend was at the time.

It was revealed as part of the report that former Attorney General Bill Barr was the one behind the start of the investigation into the former Florida tax collector, which ultimately led to Gaetz.

"I'm not the only person on screen right now that has been falsely accused of a terrible sex act," said Gaetz, possibly forgetting about sexual misconduct allegations against Tucker Carlson.


"What is happening is extortion of me and my family regarding a former Department of Justice official," said Gaetz, implying that someone under Barr's office apparently tried to bribe him. Gaetz referred to the person as a "former" official, so it's unclear if the person was fired or resign under Barr or under new DOJ officials under the Biden administration.

He then told Carlson that he's never had a relationship with a 17-year-old, which poses a lot of questions about his "generosity" to the "ex-girlfriend" he referenced. It's unclear why he would mention that ex-girlfriend and his generosity to her when asked about a story involving a 17-year-old.

At one point they compared the investigation to t"he mafia."

The interview got even weirder, with Gaetz apparently implicating Carlson himself, and brought up Carlson's own sexual misconduct allegations. He then said that Carlson met one of the women in this probe.

Carlson ended the interview and turned to his audience, "That was one of the weirdest interviews I've ever conducted."
https://www.rawstory.com/tucker-carlso ... afficking/

When Faux News says it is weird, it has to be really weird.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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Two evil creeps accusing each other.

Gaetz has a history of DUI, other sleazy sexual "adventures" and his daddy always found a way to get Matt out from under it. The fact that he immediately started talking in double-talk and projecting accusations all over means a) He did it and b) he's desperate because he has no way out this time. It will take a year, then he'll be convicted and sob on camera that he's sorry he disappointed his constituents.

As I said, a creep.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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Republicans are unloading on Rep. Matt Gaetz in gossipy texts and snide asides amid reports of a DOJ sex investigation: 'He's the meanest person in politics'


Matt Gaetz was looking for a scandal.

It was March 25, and the Florida congressman responded to a tweet from the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who had asked no one in particular, "If there's ever a scandal about me, *please* call it Elongate."

"I want Gaetzgate," the Florida Republican tweeted.

On Tuesday, Gaetz got exactly that, as reports surfaced that the 38-year old congressman is under investigation for possible sex trafficking.

The Justice Department is investigating whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and violated federal laws against sex trafficking in the process, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Not long after, "Gaetzgate" was trending on Twitter. And former Trump White House and GOP officials who loathe the loquacious and pugilistic Gaetz were gloating.

This account is based on interviews with 18 current and former GOP and White House sources.

One former senior Trump White House aide was on multiple text chains with former colleagues gossiping about the deluge of news about Gaetz's legal predicament.

The former Trump aides aren't necessarily happy to see the three-term lawmaker in trouble, but they "feel a little vindicated," the former White House staffer told Insider. "He's the meanest person in politics."

A former congressional aide said GOP leaders could soon be rid of the self-styled provocateur without having to get their hands dirty.

"Republican leadership will likely watch him completely implode in a matter of days without having to do a thing," the observer told Insider. Stripping him of committee assignments or taking other punitive steps "would require more action from the Justice Department."

Gaetz rose to prominence doing cable TV hits during the Trump era, and he's been bandied about for years as a possible Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate or even a White House contender in the style of Trump. He frequently bragged about his relationship with the Republican president and regularly rode on Air Force One. Gaetz even got engaged in December at Mar-a-Lago, the South Florida private club where Trump now lives.

Still, White House aides weren't enamored by Gaetz, and staffers tried to filter or block his influence on Trump, who in 2018 deemed Gaetz "one of the finest and most talented people in Congress."

"Good riddance," said another former Trump White House aide. "It sounds like he let whatever BS power he thought he had go to his head and he thought himself above the law."

Gaetz denied any wrong-doing in an official statement pointing fingers all over the place.

"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," Gaetz said in a release that touches on mic'd up family members, leaks to the New York Times, and calls to broadcast the evidence against him.

"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," Gaetz said.

Legal experts told Insider that DOJ will have to build a solid case against Gaetz in order to charge him with violating federal sex trafficking laws. Under current laws, it is illegal for individuals under 18 to be coerced and travel across state lines in order to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Individuals found guilty of these crimes could face at least 10 years in jail or get a life sentence.

The news about Gaetz reverberated across national GOP circles Tuesday evening, lighting up phone screens as the schadenfreude accumulated.

"The congressman is one of those that came to Washington to make an impression for fame and fortune rather than accomplishing anything in Washington for his constituents," said a national Republican campaign consultant who plays in Florida politics.

"Matt is going to have a popularity problem now, and may just fade into obscurity. No one will want to associate with him until there's a resolution — which probably won't be favorable," the Republican consultant added.

GOP sources were chattering about the Times' story on Capitol Hill, too, where Gaetz has a reputation as a conservative firebrand.

"He's not in the legislative business. He's just out there to blow shit up and get on TV," one Republican US House staffer told Insider.

"National Republicans are concerned and are carefully monitoring the situation," a senior Republican Party strategist also told Insider.

A former House GOP staffer heard from Republican leadership aides on Tuesday night who disputed the allegations against Gaetz.

"They didn't believe he would be that stupid," the former staffer told Insider. That person added that Gaetz has a reputation as a "showboat," with very few allies in the House. "He's a blight on the conference."

Doug Heye, a one-time House leadership aide turned GOP strategist, urged caution.

"We need to know more," Heye said of the still-developing story — bemoaning that politics has become "so weaponized" and "tribalized" that people are prejudged "merely because of what side of the aisle they're on."

Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, a Trump friend, and Mar-a-Lago member, didn't immediately return Insider messages seeking comment about whether Gaetz might still land a position with the news network. Axios first reported Gaetz's ruminations about landing at the network earlier Tuesday, about eight hours before the Times' story published.

'I will pray for him'

In Florida, Republicans acted cautiously to the Gaetz news.

"I'm an Episcopal priest now," said Allison DeFoor, a former county sheriff and vice chair of the Florida GOP. "I will pray for him. That's all I can do."

"There's been no word about this in the local scene," said Jim Anders, the vice chairman of the Walton County Republican Club that includes Gaetz's Florida Panhandle district.

"He's been working hard to promote the area. This other thing is a big surprise to me," added Anders. He recalled hearing Gaetz speak at a local GOP event in February where the congressman publicly introduced his fiancee to the audience.

Suzanne Harris, a Florida activist who has used Gaetz as an attorney, defended the congressman when asked about the allegations in the Times' story.

"I've known Matt since he graduated from high school, I guess," she said. "I don't have any intention of talking to you or telling you anything. I can tell you I no more believe this bulls--- than I can fly to the moon and I think everyone is going to be totally embarrassed when this thing is over."

'I've never turned tricks for Washington PACs'

In addition to becoming a cable news celebrity, Gaetz has become a powerful fundraiser.

He raised nearly $6 million for his campaign during the 2020 election — more than three times what it generated during the 2017-2018 cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Gaetz's campaign committee entered this year with more than $1.6 million in reserve.

From July through December, Gaetz's campaign committee has spent $64,402 on unspecified "legal consulting" fees with Washington, DC-based law firm Venable LLP, FEC records show.

The political action committee of defense contractor L3Harris was one of two PACs to contribute the maximum $10,000 to Gaetz's congressional campaign during the 2019-2020 election cycle, according to FEC records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Jim Burke, a spokesman for L3Harris, said the company had no immediate comment on Gaetz.

A representative for US Sugar, whose PAC also contributed $10,000 last cycle, could not immediately be reached for comment. Defense contractor Lockheed Martin, the PAC of which contributed $4,500 last cycle, also could not immediately be reached.

Gaetz swore off PAC contributions in early 2020, saying at the time: "I've never turned tricks for Washington PACs, but as of today, I'm done picking up their money in the nightstand."
https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-ga ... ump-2021-3
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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Fox News throws GOP leader’s attacks on Eric Swalwell back in his face amid Matt Gaetz sex trafficking probe

Fox News host Dana Perino on Wednesday put House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on the hot seat over revelations that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is being probed by the FBI for potential sex trafficking charges.

While appearing on Fox News, McCarthy was reminded by Perino of his past statements that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) should be removed from the House Intelligence Committee after revelations that a suspected Chinese spy had infiltrated his office.

"So by that same logic, will you take any action to remove Matt Gaetz from the Judiciary Committee while he's under investigation by the DOJ over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him?" she asked.

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McCarthy said that he wanted to let the investigation play out and give Gaetz a chance to tell his side of the story.

However, if the accusations of sex trafficking a minor are true, he agreed that "we would remove him" from his committee assignments.

Perino also asked McCarthy if he could explain why Gaetz was the only Republican to vote against an anti-sex trafficking bill in 2017.

"No, I have no idea whatsoever why he would vote against that," he replied.
https://www.rawstory.com/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz/

The Gaetzgate scandal is splashing shit on the other republicans and they aren't liking it one bit.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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The FBI investigation of Gaetz was started during the Trump administration when Bill Barr was the AG, it's not a Biden investigation.
Hours after the New York Times broke the news that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is under federal investigation for alleged sex trafficking, he was given a platform by Fox News host Tucker Carlson to tell his side of the story. But Gaetz ended up botching the softball interview so thoroughly that Carlson ended up telling his millions of viewers it was “one of the weirdest interviews I’ve ever conducted.”

At various points during the interview, Gaetz — who denies the allegations — volunteered the existence of criminal allegations against him that aren’t yet part of the public record, brought up sexual misconduct allegations against Carlson that most of his viewers probably weren’t aware of, and went out of his way to involve Carlson in stories about his personal life.

“I can say that actually you and I went to dinner about two years ago, your wife was there, and I brought a friend of mine — you’ll remember her — and she was actually threatened by the FBI, told that if she wouldn’t cop to the fact that somehow I was involved in some pay-for-play scheme, that could face trouble,” Gaetz said. “So I do believe there are people at the Department of Justice that are trying to smear me. Providing for flights and hotel rooms for people that you’re dating who are of legal age is not a crime.”

“I don’t remember the woman you’re speaking of or the context at all, honestly,” Carlson replied.
That exchange came shortly after Gaetz told Carlson that “I’m not the only person on screen right now who has been falsely accused of a terrible sex act. You were accused of something you did not do.” “You just referred to a mentally ill viewer who accused me of a sex crime 20 years ago, and of course it was not true. I had never met the person,” Carlson replied. “But I do agree with you that being accused falsely is one of the worst things that can happen, and you do see it a lot.”

Carlson was falsely accused of molesting a woman about 20 years ago, but was also accused of sexually harassing a guest on his show in a lawsuit filed last year. (Fox News has denied the allegations against Carlson and other hosts contained in the lawsuit.)

Although Carlson didn’t challenge Gaetz during the interview, he was less than thrilled with how he handled the interview.

Following a commercial break, Carlson seemed to throw Gaetz under the bus, saying the interview was “one of the weirdest interviews I’ve ever conducted” and adding, “I don’t think that clarified much ... I don’t quite understand it.”
https://www.vox.com/2021/3/31/22359953/ ... llegations

The statement came after the New York Times reported that three people briefed on the matter said that the US Department of Justice's investigation is part of a broader investigation.

Federal authorities are investigating Gaetz as part of a broader probe into trafficking allegations against another Florida politician, a person briefed on the matter told CNN.
That politician is Joel Greenberg, a former county official in Central Florida who was arrested last year on charges that include sex trafficking of a minor. Greenberg has pleaded not guilty and is set to go on trial.

The person said the probe of Gaetz was opened in the closing months of the Trump-era Justice Department, and is an outgrowth of the Greenberg investigation. Public integrity prosecutors in Washington, DC, and Tampa are overseeing the Gaetz investigation, the person added.

The people who spoke to the Times said that as part of this broader probe, investigators are looking at whether Gaetz, a high profile ally of former President Donald Trump, violated federal sex trafficking laws -- something that could carry severe legal repercussions. No charges have been filed against Gaetz, the Times reported.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/30/politics ... index.html
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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Wouldn’t be surprised to discover Gaetz was all coked up on the Carlson interview and such... it is Florida we’re talking about after all.

The implosion, when it happens, hopefully will suck a few more wretched GOP reps with him like a mini-black hole.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:00 pm His eyes always look like he's on something--like all the pot-heads used to have. But if he's smoking weed he'd stink of it and someone would notice--and report it.

I agree except I think it went up his nose. The description of the Carlson interview sounds like he was hyped on something, not a state to be in on national television.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Matt Gaetz under federal investigation over possible sexual relationship with a teenage girl

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highdesert wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:05 pm
YankeeTarheel wrote: Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:00 pm His eyes always look like he's on something--like all the pot-heads used to have. But if he's smoking weed he'd stink of it and someone would notice--and report it.

I agree except I think it went up his nose. The description of the Carlson interview sounds like he was hyped on something, not a state to be in on national television.
Oh, I don't disagree. But in my mis-spent youth I was much more familiar with the effects of pot than the more intense drugs.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

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