Politics
Defiant Matt Gaetz brands sex trafficking allegations as ‘SMEARS’ at Women For America First event & vows he won’t quit
MATT Gaetz said he’s “not going anywhere” after the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into his rumored sexual misconduct and sex trafficking allegations.
The Florida representative vowed “I have not yet begun to fight” after a federal investigation led by the Department of Justice is looking into his alleged payments into a sex trafficking ring – and just hours after the committee announced an investigation into the Republican representative.
“I’m built for the battle, and I’m not going anywhere,” Gaetz said on Friday following the investigation.
“The smears against me range from distortions of my personal life, to wild — and I mean wild — conspiracy theories,” Gaetz continued, while speaking at a Women for America First event at the Trump National Doral Miami resort.
He instead insisted the claims were “rooted in an extortion effort against my family for $25 million.”
“I won’t be intimidated by the lying media, and I won’t be extorted by a former DOJ official and the crooks he is working with. The truth will prevail,” he ended at the event.
The House Ethics Committee, which just opened an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against the Republican representative Gaetz, will check if the representative “may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use” among other misconduct.
A staunch supporter of Donald Trump, Gaetz has been accused for possible sex-trafficking violations in addition to repeated harassment and sexual misconduct claims both as a representative in Congress and in the Florida statehouse.
The committee’s Democratic chairman and top Republican said they had become “aware of public allegations” against Gaetz, which they say could be in violation of “House rules, laws, or other standards of conduct.”
The Florida Congressman is also being investigated by the Department of Justice, reportedly for paying an alleged sex trafficker $900, who then, in turn, paid three underage girls $300 – all in public on Venmo.
The DOJ is looking into travel expenses Gaetz paid for a 17-year-old woman whom he was romantically involved with as well.
Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing, but that still hasn’t stopped the committee’s leaders from going forth with their investigationn.
“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,” a statement from the Committee started.
Gaetz may have also “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.”
Gaetz has denied all allegations[/caption]
The committee is similarly investigating Republican Representative Tom Reed who also faces allegations of sexual misconduct.
“The Committee is aware of public allegations that Representative Tom Reed may have engaged in sexual misconduct, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct,” the committee wrote in another statement.
Reed was accused of fondling a former lobbyist at a bar in Minneapolis in 2017. He announced he would not be seeking reelection following her accusations and apologized to her and his family.
Gaetz’s office responded in the negative, vehemently denying the rumors.
“Once again, the office will reiterate, these allegations are blatantly false and have not been validated by a single human being willing to put their name behind them,” it said.
However, Gaetz is receiving plenty of pressure from members of his own party.
Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger was the first Republican to call for his resignation.
“Matt Gaetz needs to resign,” he tweeted on Thursday with a story about Gaetz’s alleged payment to a reported sex trafficker.
Joel Greenberg, a friend of Gaetz, is expected to plead guilty in a sex trafficking and fraud case in a Florida federal court on Thursday.
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Following the announcement, Greenberg’s attorney Fritz Scheller said “I’m sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today,” perhaps alluding to reports that Greenberg might cooperate with federal investigators into their probe of Gaetz.
“Matt has always been a fighter … and he’s going to fight back against the unfounded allegations against him,” read a statement released by Gaetz’s lawyers at the Logan Circle Group.
“His legal team, led by Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirshner, will take the fight to those trying to smear his name with falsehoods,” it concluded.
