ACLU / ANTIFA Break Up Massive Republican Kiddy Porn Ring Hosted In A Texas Baptist Church

[Matt]

power Updated May 23, 2021
The Matt Gaetz Scandal Keeps Getting Worse
By Amanda Arnold and Mia Mercado
Florida representative Matt Gaetz.
Florida representative Matt Gaetz. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Things aren’t looking good for Matt Gaetz, the Florida representative
who’s currently facing a federal investigation into a number of
allegations of a sexual nature, including whether he had a sexual
relationship with a 17-year-old girl a few years ago. Since the New York
Times reported in late March that the Department of Justice was looking
into the alleged “encounters” between Gaetz and the teenager, and whether
he paid for her to travel out of state with him — which, legally, would
constitute sex trafficking — the Matt Gaetz news cycle has taken a series
of gross and lewd twists. Recently, the Florida Republican’s “wingman,”
Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty in his own federal sex-trafficking case, as
part of a deal that demands his cooperation in other DOJ investigations.
And now, Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend has also agreed to speak with
investigators.

Let’s unpack the rapidly escalating scandal.
First came the report that Gaetz may have had a sexual relationship with a
teenager.

Gaetz’s recent trouble began at the end of March, when the New York Times
reported that the Department of Justice was investigating the attention-
seeking representative — known for ardently defending Donald Trump and for
his constant presence on conservative news shows — over whether he had
illicit “encounters” with a 17-year-old girl about two years ago.
According to three people briefed on the matter, the Times reported that
federal investigators are looking into whether Gaetz paid for the teenager
to travel over state lines, which would be a violation of federal sex-
trafficking laws.
are u coming?
Late-night dispatches from a city ready to party.

While Gaetz confirmed the DOJ probe to the Times, he claimed to be largely
unaware of its nature. “I only know that it has to do with women,” he
said. He later changed his story. After the report was published, he
insisted in a series of interviews and tweets that the allegations in the
Times were categorically false and that the investigation into him is part
of an effort to extort him and his family for $25 million. Citing no
evidence, he claimed that his father, Don Gaetz, had been “wearing a wire
at the FBI’s direction” and tweeted that “the planted leak to the FBI
tonight was intended to thwart that investigation.” (Per the Washington
Post, these claims are now being investigated by the FBI.)
More details about the investigation have since emerged.

On April 1, the Times reported that the federal investigation is focusing
most closely on whether Gaetz and former Seminole County tax collector
Joel Greenberg, one of Gaetz’s political allies — who was indicted last
year on an array of charges, including sex-trafficking a minor — provided
cash to women they found online and had sex with. (Gaetz has denied ever
paying a woman for sex.) The new report also noted that the sex-
trafficking charge against Greenberg involved the same 17-year-old girl
with whom Gaetz allegedly had sex.

Of particular interest to investigators is a trip to the Bahamas that
Gaetz allegedly took in late 2018 or early 2019 with the hand surgeon and
marijuana entrepreneur Jason Pirozzolo, who paid for all travel expenses
and female escorts. According to three sources, a number of young women
were on the trip — including the minor involved in the DOJ probe, Politico
reports. Now, investigators are trying to determine whether she was a
legal minor at the time. (According to one woman who went on the trip, all
the women were at least 18.) The report also reveals that federal agents
seized Gaetz’s phone late last year as part of a search warrant.
Gaetz’s “wingman” has pleaded guilty in his own federal case.

As expected, on May 17, Greenberg pleaded guilty to the slate of charges
against him. As part of his plea deal, the New York Times reports,
Greenberg must help in other Justice Department investigations.

This spells trouble for Gaetz, who could see Greenberg deployed as a
witness against him in his own federal case. In fact, in mid-April, two
people briefed on the DOJ probe told the Times that Greenberg has been
cooperating in the DOJ’s investigation of Gaetz since last year. After the
Feds presented the mountain of evidence against Greenberg, the former tax
collector reportedly told investigators that he and Gaetz had paid women
for sex. A spokesperson for Gaetz yet again denied the allegations.

Following Greenberg’s court appearance, his lawyer, Fritz Scheller, was
asked whether his client would cooperate against Gaetz. “He is bound by
it, the plea agreement,” Scheller replied. “He will honor it.”
While Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend has reportedly agreed to cooperate with
investigators.

Days after Greenberg’s plea, Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend — “a former Capitol
Hill staffer” who has been “linked to Gaetz as far back as the summer of
2017,” per CNN — reportedly agreed to talk to federal investigators, a
development CNN previously predicted “could be among the final steps in
the probe of Gaetz.” The ex in question interned on Capitol Hill, but not
for Gaetz; she reportedly went on the Bahamas trip, and may also be able
to provide information both on allegations of drug use, and on
questionable transactions by the Congressman.
Gaetz sent some suspicious Venmo payments to Greenberg.

According to a new report in the Daily Beast, Gaetz sent Greenberg two
suspicious payments, totaling $900, via Venmo late one evening in May
2018. The memo of the first payment was “Test”; the second read “hit up
___,” including the nickname of an 18-year-old woman. Per the Daily Beast,
the morning after Gaetz sent the payments, Greenberg transferred sums
amounting to $900 to three young women. The memos for the payments were
“Tuition,” “School,” and “School.”
A new letter from Greenberg claims he and Gaetz paid for sex with a minor.

In a letter obtained by the Daily Beast, Greenberg claims that he and
Gaetz paid for with a 17-year-old. “On more than one occasion, [the minor]
was involved in sexual activities with several of the other girls, the
congressman from Florida’s 1st Congressional District, and myself,”
Greenberg wrote. “From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or partial
tuition payments were made to several of these girls, including the
individual who was not yet 18. I did see the acts occur firsthand and
Venmo transactions, Cash App, or other payments were made to these girls
on behalf of the congressman.”

In an earlier draft of Greenberg’s letter, also obtained by the Daily
Beast, he claims he and Gaetz thought the minor was 19 at the time and
later learned she was underage. “Immediately I called the congressman and
warned him to stay clear of this person and informed him she was
underage,” Greenberg wrote. “He was equally shocked and disturbed by this
revelation.”

Greenberg apparently wrote the letter to Roger Stone, seeking a pardon
from Trump. In yet another bizarre twist, the Daily Beast also obtained
messages between Greenberg and Stone in which Greenberg offers to pay
Stone $250,000 in Bitcoin. (Stone denies receiving the letter and any
money, according to CNN.)
Gaetz reportedly showed nudes of women he slept with to other lawmakers.

According to CNN, Gaetz had a habit of showing off nude photos and videos
of women he slept with to other lawmakers even while they were on the
House floor, sources told the outlet, including two people who say they
were shown the material. “It was a point of pride,” one said.

While Gaetz has yet to respond to the accusation, it wouldn’t be out of
character, considering new reports that have since emerged. Earlier this
month, retired Florida state representative Tom Goodson told the Orlando
Sentinel that Gaetz fought fiercely against a 2015 law that protected
against revenge porn because he believed that once a nude image is sent,
it becomes the property of the recipient.

“He thought the picture was his to do with what he wanted,” Goodson said.
“He thought that any picture was his to use as he wanted to, as an
expression of his rights.”
Others have alleged that he “scored” his female colleagues based on how
badly he wanted to have sex with them.

Back in December 2017, at the height of the Me Too movement, the Miami
Herald reported on the existence of a group of young male lawmakers in
Florida who crafted a lewd sexual scoring system, awarding “points” to
female legislators and lobbyists based on how badly they wanted to sleep
with them. According to ABC News, Gaetz was allegedly involved. Last week,
one source told the outlet that some of the targets of the “game” were
women that the men had heard were “virgins.”

In the same report, another source said that Gaetz was often seen
attempting to pick up young women at a bar popular among lawmakers and
students from Florida State University. Gaetz’s office did not respond to
ABC News’s request for comment.
Gaetz reportedly sought a preemptive pardon from Trump.

According to new reporting from the New York Times, in the final weeks of
Trump’s presidential term, Gaetz quietly sought a blanket preemptive
pardon for himself and some of his allies in Congress. At the time, Gaetz
was demanding that Trump allies be granted pardons to protect against
“bloodlust” — but, as the Times notes, Gaetz’s private blanket-pardon
request came as the DOJ was interviewing the representative’s associates
about the ongoing sex-trafficking probe. (It remains unclear whether Gaetz
or the White House knew about the investigation.)

On April 7, Trump issued his long-awaited response to the scandal
engulfing one of his most vocal supporters. The statement read, in full:
“Congressman Matt Gaetz has never asked me for a pardon. It must also be
remembered that he has totally denied the accusations against him.”

This post has been updated with additional information.