Tag: Matt Gaetz

‘Everyone thinks that this is going the wrong direction’: Republicans faced with dealing with Matt Gaetz as Congress returns

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Republican lawmakers returning to the Capitol after a break are about to be confronted with working with — and questions about — Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) this week, reports CNN.

During Congress’s Spring break, the controversial Florida lawmaker became even more controversial after it was leaked that he is under multiple investigations related to sex trafficking and allegedly paying women for sex. Now as lawmakers return, they can expect to be inundated with questions from the press as to whether the Gaetz should resign.

As CNN notes, to date, most Republicans have been silent on Gaetz’s legal problems. Continue reading.

Wake Up, GOP, Warns Liz Cheney: Trump Is Still Waging ‘War On The Constitution’

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The Wyoming lawmaker also called the sex trafficking allegations against Matt Gaetz “sickening.”

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) called on her party Sunday to move on from former President Donald Trump, saying in an interview on “Face The Nation” on CBS that he’s peddling his old lies and continuing to wage “war on the Constitution.”

In an incendiary speech Saturday at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for the Republican National Committee, Trump yet again baselessly claimed the election had been illegally stolen from him. He attacked former Vice President Mike Pence for lacking “the courage” to block voters’ choice of Joe Biden as president. He expressed no regrets about, nor remorse for, the deadly Capitol riot, The Washington Post reported.

“The former president is using the same language that he knows provoked violence on January 6th,” Cheney said of the speech. “As a party, we need to be focused on the future. We need to be focused on embracing the Constitution — not embracing insurrection.” Continue reading.

House Ethics Committee opens probe into Gaetz

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The House Ethics Committee announced it is opening an investigation into embattled GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) on Friday following allegations of illegal drug use and sharing nude photos of young women with his colleagues on the House floor.

“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct,” the panel said in a statement announcing it is beginning an investigation to gather additional information.

“The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations, and publicly disclosing its review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the statement noted. Continue reading.

Another Gaetz top aide abruptly quits — congressman hid resignation for a week

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A second top aide to Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has resigned amid the growing scandals of alleged child sex trafficking and a sexual relationship with a 17-year old.

Gaetz legislative aide Devin Murphy resigned last week on Friday, The New York Times reports. The Florida Republican hid the news which just broke for nearly a week.

Murphy, a highly-controversial staffer who was the subject of disturbing news reports in 2017, “told associates that he was interested in writing bills, not working at TMZ,” the Times reports, “equating the work that Mr. Gaetz’s aides were now handling to the tabloid publication, according to one of the people, who all asked not to be identified discussing a sensitive personnel matter.” Continue reading.

Kinzinger is first GOP lawmaker to call on Gaetz to resign

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GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) on Thursday night called for Rep. Matt Gaetz(R-Fla.) to resign amid allegations that Gaetz had sex with a minor and violated sex trafficking laws. 

In a short tweet, the Illinois Republican wrote, “Matt Gaetz needs to resign.”

The tweet included a link to an article from The Daily Beast reporting that Gaetz used Venmo to pay an accused sex trafficker $900 in May of 2018. The Beast reports that the man, Joel Greenberg, then sent the same amount of money to teenaged girls. Continue reading.

Video emerges of Trump and Ron DeSantis meeting man being investigated for human trafficking with Matt Gaetz

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On Wednesday, CBS News revealed that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) went to the Bahamas in late 2018 or early 2019 with a marijuana entrepreneur and hand surgeon that ultimately triggered a sex trafficking investigation.

The man, named Jason Pirozzolo, “allegedly paid for the travel expenses, accommodations, and female escorts,” the report revealed. 

Whether the escorts were hired for sex across state or international lines is part of the investigation by the Justice Department, and it includes both Gaetz and Pirozzolo as part of that probe. Continue reading.

Gaetz associate likely to strike plea deal with prosecutors in sex trafficking case

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ORLANDO — A Florida politician at the center of an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz is negotiating with federal prosecutors to resolve his own sex-trafficking and other charges, a potentially ominous sign for the congressman if his associate decides to cooperate in a bid for leniency.

Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector for Seminole County, Fla., initially was charged last summer in a bare-bones indictment that prosecutors have since superseded, adding charges of sex trafficking of a minor, stealing from the tax office and even trying to use fraud to get covid-19 relief money while out on bond. In the course of the investigation into his conduct, people familiar with the matter have said, federal authorities came across evidence that Gaetz (R-Fla.) might have committed a crime and launched a separate investigation into him.

At a status conference in Greenberg’s case Thursday, federal prosecutor Roger Handberg told a judge that he expected a plea, though negotiations are ongoing. Fritz Scheller, an attorney for Greenberg, asked the judge to set a deadline of May 15 for the two sides to either reach a deal, or move toward a trial in the summer. Continue reading.

Matt Gaetz Bahamas trip with female escorts triggered the sex-trafficking investigation: CBS

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CBS News revealed Wednesday that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) took a trip to the Bahamas in late 2018 or early 2019 that triggered the sex trafficking investigation, sources revealed.

According to the report, “Gaetz was on that trip with a marijuana entrepreneur and hand surgeon named Jason Pirozzolo, who allegedly paid for the travel expenses, accommodations, and female escorts.”

The Justice Department is investigating to determine if the escorts were illegally trafficked across state or international lines for sex with Gaetz or merely as escorts that do not provide anything other than companionship. Continue reading.

Matt Gaetz, Loyal for Years to Trump, Is Said to Have Sought a Blanket Pardon

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The congressman was at the time under investigation over whether he violated sex trafficking laws, though it was unclear what he knew of the inquiry.

Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, was one of President Donald J. Trump’s most vocal allies during his term, publicly pledging loyalty and even signing a letter nominating the president for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the final weeks of Mr. Trump’s term, Mr. Gaetz sought something in return. He privately asked the White House for blanket pre-emptive pardons for himself and unidentified congressional allies for any crimes they may have committed, according to two people told of the discussions.

Around that time, Mr. Gaetz was also publicly calling for broad pardons from Mr. Trump to thwart what he termed the “bloodlust” of their political opponents. But Justice Department investigators had begun questioning Mr. Gaetz’s associates about his conduct, including whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old that violated sex trafficking laws, in an inquiry that grew out of the case of an indicted associate in Florida. Continue reading.

Ex-Lawmaker: Gaetz Opposed ‘Revenge Porn’ Restrictions In Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. — While serving in the Florida Legislature, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz opposed a bill meant to stop people from sharing sexually explicit images of their ex-lovers because Gaetz believed that recipients of those images had a right to share them, according to the sponsor of the legislation.

Former state Rep. Tom Goodson, a Republican from Brevard County, spent three years sponsoring legislation to outlaw nonconsensual pornography — sometimes called “revenge porn.”

And Goodson said Monday that Gaetz was the chief opponent to that legislation. Goodson said he remembered a meeting in which Gaetz said that if someone sends an intimate image to their romantic partner, then that image becomes the partner’s property to use however they want. Continue reading.