Rightist G.O.P. Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz Paid for Sex With Minor, Joel Greenberg Says

[jserraglio]

NEW YORK TIMES https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/us/p ... ation.html

Matt Gaetz Is Said to Face Justice Dept. Inquiry Over Sex With an Underage Girl

An inquiry into the Florida congressman was opened in the final months of the Trump administration, people briefed on it said.

By Michael S. Schmidt, Katie Benner and Nicholas Fandos
March 30, 2021

Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida and a close ally of former President Donald J. Trump, is being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him, according to three people briefed on the matter.

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.

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 investigation was opened in the final months of the Trump administration under Attorney General William P. Barr, the two people said. Given Mr. Gaetz’s national profile, senior Justice Department officials in Washington — including some appointed by Mr. Trump — were notified of the investigation, the people said.

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.

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.

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. “I only know that it has to do with women,” Mr. Gaetz said. “I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”

Mr. Gaetz called the investigation part of an elaborate scheme involving “false sex allegations” to extort him and his family for $25 million that began this month. He said he and his father, Don Gaetz, had been cooperating with the F.B.I. and “wearing a wire” after they were approached by people saying they could make the investigation “go away.” Mr. Gaetz claimed the disclosure of the sex trafficking inquiry was intended to thwart an investigation into the extortion plot.

In a second interview later Tuesday, the congressman said he had no plans to resign his House seat and denied that he had romantic relationships with minors. “It is verifiably false that I have traveled with a 17-year-old woman,” he said.

[jserraglio]

WALL STREET JOURNAL excerpt

Investigators are examining whether Mr. Gaetz, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, violated federal sex-trafficking laws, the people said. Those laws make it illegal to transport someone younger than 18 across state lines to engage in sex.

The investigation, first reported by the New York Times, began last year when Mr. Trump was president, the people said. Senior Justice Department officials, including some Trump appointees, were briefed in the summer, they said.

“No part of the allegations against me are true,” Mr. Gaetz, 38, said in a statement that alleged they were part of a concerted effort to blackmail him.

On Fox News later Tuesday, Mr. Gaetz elaborated, saying that “providing for flights and hotel rooms for people that you are dating who are of legal age is not a crime.”

[lennygoran]

Joseph did you see the look on Tucker Carlson's face-now Tucker may become an actual witness-were he and his wife at that dinner wirh Gaetz and a girl friend or not! Regards, Len GET GAETZ

[jserraglio]

Joseph did you see the look on Tucker Carlson's face-now Tucker may become an actual witness-were he and his wife at that dinner wirh Gaetz and a girl friend or not! Regards, Len GET GAETZ

No, but I will make it a point to send Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson a souvenir of the checkered past he never talks about—a Swanson TV dinner.

[lennygoran]

No, but I will make it a point to send Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson a souvenir of the checkered past he never talks about—a Swanson TV dinner.

I didn't know much about him so I went to wikipedia:
In 1976, Carlson's parents divorced after the nine-year marriage reportedly "turned sour".[20][25] Carlson's father was granted custody of Tucker and his brother. Carlson's mother left the family when he was six, wanting to pursue a "bohemian" lifestyle.[19][26][27]

In 1979, Carlson's father married divorcée Patricia Caroline Swanson, an heiress to Swanson Enterprises. Swanson is the daughter of Gilbert Carl Swanson and the niece of Senator J. William Fulbright.[19][28]

Growing up Swanson chicken pies were one of my favorite foods. Regards, Len

[barney]

One of the weirdest interviews he ever conducted? Gaetz is somewhat exposed when even Tucker falls away. Of course being exposed is something Republicans rather like - just ask Giuliani.

[lennygoran]

Gaetz is somewhat exposed when even Tucker falls away.

Barney if he gets indicted he'll be stripped of his judicial committee assignment-maybe he'll even get convicted-maybe jail time-the guy Greenberg who started the whole investigation in Seminole County, Florida-what a weirdo! Regards, Len

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politic ... story.html

[jserraglio]

NEW YORK POST Alleged Matt Gaetz extortion plot involved orgy, US hostage — and $25 million: report https://nypost.com/2021/03/31/matt-gaet ... on-report/

WASHINGTON EXAMINER Documents detail wild alleged $25M Gaetz extortion scheme https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news ... ion-scheme

WASHINGTON EXAMINER READ: Full documents Matt Gaetz says back up extortion claim https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news ... -extortion

THE DAILY BEAST Jimmy Kimmel Gleefully Dances on Matt Gaetz’s Political Grave https://www.thedailybeast.com/jimmy-kim ... n-disaster

[maestrob]

Good Lord!

You just can't make this stuff up, can you?

[jserraglio]

Matt Gaetz earns a coveted 4 Pinocchios Award from WAPO’s The Fact Checker

ANALYSIS
by Salvatore Rizzo

“It is a horrible allegation, and it is a lie. The New York Times is running a story that I have traveled with a 17-year-old woman, and that is verifiably false. People can look at my travel records and see that that is not the case.” — Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), in an interview on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox News , March 30, 2021

“I have not had a relationship with a 17-year-old. That is totally false. … And records will bear that out to be false.” — Gaetz, in the interview

The Justice Department is investigating Gaetz over an alleged sexual relationship about two years ago with a 17-year-old girl.

Gaetz, 38, has confirmed that he is a subject of the investigation. He denies the allegations and says his family is being blackmailed by a former federal prosecutor seeking $25 million.

The Gaetz investigation was first reported by the New York Times on Tuesday. That night, Gaetz went on Fox News and called the story “verifiably false.” He said “people can look at my travel records and see that that is not the case.”

The Fact Checker could not resist this invitation. We found that Gaetz’s line about “travel records” is a complete smokescreen. They disprove nothing.

The Facts

A third-term congressman from the Florida Panhandle, Gaetz is a frequent guest on right-wing media and an ally of former president Donald Trump. He has not been charged with any crimes.

The Washington Post reported that the investigation into Gaetz began last year, when Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr were still in office.

Authorities were pursuing a criminal case against the Seminole County tax collector, Joel Greenberg, a Gaetz ally who was indicted last year on allegations of sex-trafficking a girl between 14 and 17 years of age. Greenberg pleaded not guilty.

That case led investigators to Gaetz and allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her travel. Once this probe was underway, Gaetz’s family raised allegations that the congressman was being extorted, and the FBI separately is exploring those claims, The Post reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Federal laws prohibit the transportation of minors across state lines to engage in sex and prohibit sex with minors in exchange for anything of value.

Gaetz challenged the New York Times’s reporting that he traveled with a 17-year-old girl and said, “People can look at my travel records and see that that is not the case.” He also denied having had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl and said that “records will bear that out to be false.”

In the same Fox News interview, Gaetz said that “providing for flights and hotel rooms for people that you’re dating who are of legal age is not a crime.”

The salient details of the Times report were confirmed within hours by The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and CNN. Gaetz himself confirmed to the Times and others that he is under investigation. He said the Justice Department told his lawyer that Gaetz was a “subject” but not a “target” of the probe, according to the Times.
Now, let’s cut to the chase.

Which records is Gaetz referring to, where can they be found, and how do they disprove the allegations against him?

These are natural questions following his comments on Fox News. Gaetz says the records would clear his name. But when we asked to see them, neither he nor his staff acknowledged our questions. That’s very fishy.

Here’s the bottom line: House members’ personal travel and expenses are not subject to disclosure, so there would be no public records to check regarding Gaetz’s private life.

“If this was just personal travel, and he wasn’t using campaign or official funds, there’s no disclosure,” said Jordan Libowitz, communications director for the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Airline flight manifests and personal credit card or bank statements would chart who went where with whom at what times and at whose expense, but those sensitive records are not public. Only law enforcement investigators could look through them by getting subpoenas.

“There’s no way to know without the DOJ subpoenaing his personal credit card records or those of Joel Greenberg, or someone else may have been involved,” Libowitz said.

The disclosures Gaetz did file with the House Ethics Committee and the Federal Election Commission, regarding official trips, campaign expenses or speaking events, do not include the information he told Fox News viewers could be checked.

These forms do not require that Gaetz list every person who traveled with him on the trips he disclosed. At most, one House ethics form for disclosing “gift travel” asks that accompanying “relatives” or “family members” be listed.

Gift travel filings show that Gaetz has taken three trips paid for by sponsors since taking office in 2017. The first was in August 2017 to three cities in Israel, paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation. Gaetz’s father, Donald Gaetz, joined him on the trip, and his expenses also were covered by the foundation, the form shows.

The second trip was in January 2018 to Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show; the trip was sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association. Gaetz indicated that no relatives joined him on the trip.

The third trip was to Yale University in New Haven, Conn., in February 2019. Gaetz indicated that no family members joined him.

Separately, Gaetz did not disclose any travel payments or reimbursements on his financial disclosure forms for 2019, 2018 or 2017.

Last, his campaign expenditure reports to the FEC also do not provide the proof Gaetz suggested was out there. For example, his report for the fourth quarter of 2019 itemizes various airfare expenses, listing the airline and cost, but not who was traveling.

The whole issue is a bit of a Catch-22: Gaetz is not required to file disclosures concerning his private life and expenses. But if he somehow used campaign or taxpayer funds for personal matters, there might be a paper trail to follow. However, using campaign or taxpayer funds for personal matters would be a crime unto itself. Former congressman Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.) pleaded guilty to various campaign finance violations last year, including using campaign funds to pay for trips, dinners and drinks for his mistresses. He was sentenced to 11 months in prison but was pardoned by Trump.

We repeatedly asked Gaetz’s chief of staff Jillian Lane Wyant and his spokesman Luke Ball to show us the travel records supposedly debunking the allegations and received no response. We also sent a text message directly to Gaetz with our query and got no reply.

In the same Fox News interview, Gaetz made a separate claim that the host, Tucker Carlson, disputed on air.

“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,” Gaetz told Carlson. “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 she could face trouble. And so, I do believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to smear me.”

Carlson said, “I don’t remember the woman you are speaking of or the context at all, honestly.”

The Pinocchio Test

Gaetz said: “The New York Times is running a story that I have traveled with a 17-year-old woman, and that is verifiably false. People can look at my travel records and see that that is not the case.”

This fact check is strictly about Gaetz’s claim that his publicly available travel records would debunk reporting in the New York Times and other outlets. The news organizations reported only that he is under investigation over an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, not that it actually happened.

The fact that he is under investigation is indisputable. Gaetz has not been charged with any crime and denies these allegations. But he also has confirmed the investigation’s existence.

As a House member, Gaetz is not required to file disclosures concerning his private life and expenses. The disclosure forms he has filed do not disprove that he is under investigation for traveling with a 17-year-old girl or arranging her travel.

We searched through all the available records and found nothing to support Gaetz’s claim. We repeatedly asked his staff to show us the records and heard crickets. We asked Gaetz directly — nothing, radio silence.

As regular readers know, the burden of proof is on the speaker. Gaetz is putting up a smokescreen, falsely reassuring viewers with nonexistent evidence.

He earns ... Four Pinocchios. Show us the travel records, and the rating may change.

Salvador Rizzo is a reporter for The Fact Checker. He previously covered New Jersey politics and Gov. Chris Christie, with stints at the Star-Ledger, the Bergen Record and the New York Observer.

[maestrob]

LOVE The Fact Checker!

Thanks, Joe.

[jserraglio]

LOVE The Fact Checker!

Gotta LUV Matt Gaetz, who even if found to be innocent of this charge, still qualifies as a bipedal GLOP.

As I see it, public officials like Gaetz are not entitled to a presumption of innocence outside of the courtroom. They have all kinds of defensive measures at their disposal and serve at the pleasure of the public.

But just to be totally unclear, here's where the matter now stands:

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.

I don't really understand this story very well.

The last time I had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, I was 17. As for the Hill, I know I have many enemies and few friends. My support generally lies outside of Washington, D.C., and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I can tell you that nobody opens a sex trafficking investigation in which the subject is a sitting member of Congress without having a significant degree of information.

[jserraglio]

CNN Gaetz showed nude photos and videos of women he said he'd slept with to lawmakers on the House floor, multiple sources tell CNN https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/01/politics ... index.html

[Rach3]

CNN Gaetz showed nude photos and videos of women he said he'd slept with to lawmakers on the House floor, multiple sources tell CNN https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/01/politics ... index.html

Guess Gaetz not the only one who may be in trouble.A fish rots from the head. McCabe is right on about information DOJ has.

[jserraglio]

NEW YORK TIMES Justice Dept. Inquiry Into Matt Gaetz Said to Be Focused on Cash Paid to Women https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/us/p ... tment.html

[maestrob]

NEW YORK TIMES Justice Dept. Inquiry Into Matt Gaetz Said to Be Focused on Cash Paid to Women https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/us/p ... tment.html

Let's get Getz! All these nut-jobs need to be removed from Congress posthaste!

He should be encouraged STRONGLY to move to TV!

[jserraglio]

NEW YORK TIMES Justice Dept. Inquiry Into Matt Gaetz Said to Be Focused on Cash Paid to Women https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/us/p ... tment.html

Let's get Getz! All these nut-jobs need to be removed from Congress posthaste!

He should be encouraged STRONGLY to move to TV!

The ECSTASY Channel? Matt ‘Stormin de Gates’?

[maestrob]

Anywhere that's appropriate! Certainly not Congress!

[jserraglio]

Anywhere that's appropriate! Certainly not Congress!

Query — What is it about the brain of the ultra-right male that lures him into Venus flytraps? from Australia to America?

[maestrob]

Anywhere that's appropriate! Certainly not Congress!

Sincere Query — What is it about ultra-righty males that draws them into open cookie jars? from Australia to America?

In response I can only say that power is the greatest aphrodisiac. I'm sure we both remember how randy Bill Clinton was in his day, right?

Also, the people now running for office as Republicans are decidedly not the most advanced sort of humans, are they, and so are thus inclined to such behaviors. Just ask Bret Kavenaugh about his high school days! Or for that matter, Clarence Thomas about how to run an office. They both had to learn the hard way.

[jserraglio]

Yes, but all these gents had their staunch defenders. So far, nobody is vouching for Gaetz except former OSU Coach Jim Jordan and QAnon Margie.

[maestrob]

Yes, but all these gents had their staunch defenders. So far, nobody is vouching for Gaetz except former OSU Coach Jim Jordan and QAnon Margie.

This may be true, but what great company to be in!

Maybe they'll all leave Congress for jobs selling pillows. They could all form a company with Tucker Swanson Carlson as CEO/CFO and get rich!

[lennygoran]

They could all form a company with Tucker Swanson Carlson as CEO/CFO and get rich!

Brian would that include the father with the wire! Regards, Len

[jserraglio]

WALL STREET JOURNAL Gaetz Says He Won’t Resign as Pressure Mounts https://www.wsj.com/articles/matt-gaetz ... 1617408350 EXCERPTS

Florida Republican, under an FBI investigation into possible sex-trafficking violations, denies wrongdoing

By Siobhan Hughes and Sadie Gurman
April 2, 2021

WASHINGTON—Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) on Friday said he wouldn’t resign in the face of rising pressure over reports that the FBI has been investigating him since last summer, in part over whether he broke federal sex-trafficking laws.

“Of course not,” Mr. Gaetz said in a text message Friday, addressing whether he would leave office. He declined to say more, citing Good Friday. His lawyer also said Mr. Gaetz wouldn’t step down.

. . . But in the state capital of Tallahassee, Republicans were already discussing who would replace Mr. Gaetz, people familiar with the conversations said.

I’m really loving this monogamy thing.

“His political brethren are already jockeying to take his seat,” said former Florida Rep. David Jolly. “They’re not insulating him—they’re already assuming that Matt’s political career is over.”

“These scandals hit a certain point where there’s no escape,” Mr. Jolly said. “We’ve clearly hit that point for Matt in Florida politics . . . .

Many House Republicans seek an early end to the attention to Mr. Gaetz because they don’t want it to damage what they believe is a chance to take back control of the House in 2022 given the Democrats’ narrow 219-211 majority. Privately, many Republicans in Congress are ready for Mr. Gaetz to leave, according to GOP figures who have spoken to lawmakers.

Mr. Gaetz’s behavior in Congress has raised eyebrows among some lawmakers and aides on the Hill. One former lawmaker described how Mr. Gaetz had shown him videos of his sexual partners in the House Republican cloakroom. A current lawmaker described Mr. Gaetz one day bragging to him on a walk from the Capitol about going to bars and being around “fine women.” A congressional aide said that after Mr. Gaetz got engaged last year, he said, “I’m really loving this monogamy thing,” adding that Mr. Gaetz was drawing a contrast to his previous lifestyle.

Mr. Gaetz didn’t respond to a further request for comment Friday evening.

Mr. Gaetz’s behavior also came into question during his service in Florida’s state legislature from 2010 to 2016, according to a person familiar with the matter. While in Tallahassee, he and others competed against each other in a contest over having sexual relationships with women, operating under a point system in which participants were awarded one point for sleeping with a lobbyist and two points if the lobbyist was married, this person said.

“You created a game where members of the FL House got “points” for sleeping with aides, interns, lobbyists, and married legislators,” said Florida state Rep. Chris Latvala and fellow Republican on Twitter last year. “Hope DC is treating you well.”

[maestrob]

Bye-bye!

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[jserraglio]

Bye-bye!

Game called because of leaks in the Tropicana Dome!

BUSINESS INSIDER Matt Gaetz accused of inventing a sex game where he and his male colleagues got points for 'sleeping with aides, interns, lobbyists, and married legislators'
https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-ga ... ure-2021-4

[maestrob]

Bye-bye!

Game called because of leaks in the Dome!

BUSINESS INSIDER Matt Gaetz accused of inventing a sex game where he and his male colleagues got points for 'sleeping with aides, interns, lobbyists, and married legislators'
https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-ga ... ure-2021-4

What a turd!

I wonder what his 26-year-old fiancee thinks about all this?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[jserraglio]

[maestrob]

Joe, you've done it again!

[jserraglio]

USA TODAY Matt Gaetz's media blitz publicized a federal investigation. Legal experts say that poses risks https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 822002001/

[lennygoran]

SNL clip! Regards, Len

https://youtu.be/5hoEQnH8KDI

[jserraglio]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPnxGq_MZ6g

[jserraglio]

WASHINGTON EXAMINER Rep. Matt Gaetz: The swamp is out to drown me with false charges, but I'm not giving up https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opin ... -giving-up

[maestrob]

Astounding that Gaetz should take his cues from a Democratic governor, don't you think?

He would certainly be more credible if he had more dignity and threw around less slime.

Bye-bye!

[jserraglio]

The Trappists monks are always ready to accept novices, even political newbies. He can spend the rest of his days brewing beer and keeping his trappista shut.

[maestrob]

The Trappists monks always ready to accept novices, even political newbies. He can spend the rest of his days brewing beer and keeping his trappista shut.

[jserraglio]

Toddler gets into the cupcakes, has frosting and sprinkles all over his mouth, fingers, and thighs, but when asked if he put his hands on the forbidden pâtisserie, steadfastly says, ‘No Matty, DOJ do’.

[maestrob]

Da toddler got into the cupcakes, has frosting and sprinkles all over his mouth, fingers, and thighs, but when asked if he put his hands on the forbidden pâtisserie, steadfastly says, ‘No’.

I wonder what you carry in your pocket in case you overdose on ecstasy?

[jserraglio]

I wonder what you carry in your pocket in case you overdose on ecstasy?

According to one news report, an empty box of Trojan Bareskins was found sitting atop the trash placed outside his House office. So I reckon he is reading the Aeneid.

[maestrob]

I wonder what you carry in your pocket in case you overdose on ecstasy?

According to one news report, an empty box of Trojan Bareskins was found sitting atop the trash placed outside his House office. So I reckon he is reading the Aeneid.

Joe, you are a constant source of good cheer every day.

[jserraglio]

POLITICO Trump and his allies abandon Gaetz https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/0 ... ine-479126

[jserraglio]

NYT Matt Gaetz, Loyal for Years to Trump, Is Said to Have Sought a Blanket Pardon https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/us/p ... ardon.html

[maestrob]

POLITICO Trump and his allies abandon Gaetz https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/0 ... ine-479126

There's a link in the article you posted to one in Vanity Fare by ex-Congresswoman Katie Hill, the Member who had to resign after the husband she's in process of divorcing posted nude photos of her without her consent. The most interesting paragraph from that and a link to that full article follow:

Sharing intimate images or videos of someone without their consent should be illegal, plain and simple. It shouldn’t matter if it was done to hurt someone, as with revenge porn, or to brag about your sexual conquests, like Matt has been accused of doing. In fact, I’ve spent the last few months advocating for a bill called the SHIELD Act to be included as part of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which just passed the House and is headed to the Senate. If enacted,
it will become a federal crime to knowingly distribute an intimate visual depiction of someone without their permission.

While we don’t know enough to determine whether what Matt allegedly did would constitute distribution, this legislation clarifies that it’s a crime whether you intend to hurt someone or not by sharing their images. Even if he was just showing off and meant no harm to those women, it’s still unacceptable. Unfortunately, Matt voted against the bill.

This, I think, is a brilliant idea. I hope the bill passes.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/04 ... -to-resign

[maestrob]

NYT Matt Gaetz, Loyal for Years to Trump, Is Said to Have Sought a Blanket Pardon https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/us/p ... ardon.html

Fascinating, Joe, especially the following:

In recent days, some Trump associates have speculated that Mr. Gaetz’s request for a group pardon was an attempt to camouflage his own potential criminal exposure.

The fact that even Trump aides are speculating publicly does not bode well for Gaetz, does it?

What also intrigues me is that now we are free to indulge in a discussion about a sex scandal, rather than our fears of American becoming a dictatorship.

How quickly things change.

Never forget.

[maestrob]

Here’s … Matt Gaetz

Trouble for the Florida fanboy.

By Gail Collins
Opinion Columnist

April 7, 2021


Hey, we’ve got our first political sex scandal of the spring. Not as charming as an Easter basket, but maybe livelier. What would you guess the most common response was?

A) “Oh my God, not Representative Matt Gaetz!”

B) “Matt who?”

C) “Is that the guy who they say keeps passing around pictures of naked women?”

I would go with C, but it’s perfectly possible a lot of people are still perplexed when the name comes up. Which is sort of a shame. If Americans love a sex scandal, they prefer it to involve somebody who’s reasonably important.

“Nancy Pelosi once defended President Bill Clinton after he got an intern to fellate him in the Oval Office,” Gaetz argued in an opinion piece in The Washington Examiner. This is true, and we would hope the congressman gets the same kind of loyal support the very second he presides over one of the longest economic expansions in American history.

As it stands, Gaetz is a spectacularly unproductive Florida Republican who never managed, during his first two terms in the House, to get a single bill that he sponsored signed into law. (We are still crossing our fingers for that post-office-naming he co-sponsored.) Meanwhile, by Forbes’s count, he has appeared on Fox News at least 179 times since taking office.

Now, we’ve learned, the Justice Department has been investigating — through two administrations — whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel with him. Having sex with a minor is both illegal and appalling, and the Gaetz saga is intertwined with many, many details involving his slimy associates, one of whom has already been indicted on sex trafficking, and his alleged use of drugs (Ecstasy, of course).

“I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward,” Gaetz said. As only he could.

As scandals go, this one can’t compare to American politics’ greatest. Like Alexander Hamilton’s desperation to prove he wasn’t politically corrupt by arguing that all his surreptitious financial dealings were just blackmail payments to cover up an adulterous affair. (Stop here for a minute and try to imagine the Gaetz story being turned into a Broadway musical.)

Back in 1974, Wilbur Mills, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was stopped while speeding near the Jefferson Memorial. One of the occupants of his car, a stripper who worked under the name Fanne Foxe, jumped out and ran off to leap into the Washington Tidal Basin. Mills clearly had a drinking problem, but he got re-elected anyway, and rewarded his constituents by flying off to reunite with Foxe, who would eventually perform as “The Tidal Basin Bombshell.”

After he retired and recuperated, Mills revealed that while he had been setting American tax policy, he had often been consuming half a gallon of alcohol a night and had once hallucinated that buzzards were chasing him.

Now that was a scandal.

Donald Trump may have been a terrible president, but he was a terrific example of how to weather crises like the revelation of his drop-ins on naked beauty pageant contestants and that adultery case argued out in the New York tabloids. Another man might have curled up in a ball under the bed in humiliation. But Trump just measured the headlines and moved right on.

Now, The Times has reported that at the very end of Trump’s presidency, Gaetz asked the White House for “blanket pre-emptive pardons” for himself and some of his allies. Trump, who has been spectacularly silent about his loyal supporter’s problems, quickly said he had not discussed pardons directly with Gaetz.

Maybe he missed the memo. Gaetz is a huge Trump fanboy who recently proposed to his fiancée (yes!) at Mar-a-Lago. He offered to resign from Congress to represent Trump as his impeachment lawyer. That would have been a touching gesture except that Gaetz is clearly a guy who’d be happy to trade in his seat in the House of Representatives for, say, a gig hosting a game show.

If his goal is making it big on right-wing talk shows, Gaetz is certainly going to have to be more careful. During a recent appearance on Fox, he reminded Tucker Carlson about the time they went on a double date. Carlson most definitely did not recall.

While there have been lots and lots of shocking political gossip stories circulated over the years, it’s a little different when the whole world can just Google everything. In 2019, for instance, a conservative website published nude pictures of Representative Katie Hill, which the freshman Democrat decried as revenge porn leaked by her estranged husband.

Hill’s story moved into a second chapter when she admitted she had an affair with a campaign staffer and resigned from office. Gaetz sort of congratulated himself for defending her back “when her own Democratic colleagues wouldn’t,” and she recently agreed that he had been a pal at “one of the darkest moments of my life.”

… Before adding that if there was even “a fraction of truth” to the current reports — that included showing off pictures of naked women without their consent — he should definitely resign. “Immediately.”

Gail Collins is an Op-Ed columnist and a former member of the editorial board, and was the first woman to serve as the Times editorial page editor, from 2001 to 2007.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/07/opin ... e=Homepage

[jserraglio]

CBS Matt Gaetz trip to Bahamas is part of federal probe into sex trafficking, sources say https://www.cbsnews.com/news/matt-gaetz ... afficking/

CNN Matt Gaetz associate likely to strike plea deal, attorneys say https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/08/politics ... index.html

[jserraglio]

NYT Indicted Matt Gaetz Associate Is Expected to Plead Guilty, Lawyers Say https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/us/p ... ation.html

The associate could cooperate with prosecutors, giving them information about Mr. Gaetz’s relationships that investigators are examining for possible sex trafficking violations.

[barney]

Love the Gail Collins piece, Brian. Wow - you've had some real characters in politics over theyears.

[maestrob]

Love the Gail Collins piece, Brian. Wow - you've had some real characters in politics over theyears.

Absolute power does indeed corrupt absolutely, doesn't it?

Joe:

Gaetz introduced the Medical Cannabis Research Act in April 2018 and again in January 2019, though it never came to a vote."If there's evidence of a quid pro quo that the congressman was provided with benefits in return for him sponsoring some legislation that's of interest to the donor, that that's a federal crime," said Devlin-Brown.

Pirozzolo is the co-founder and chairman of the board of the Medical Marijuana Physicians Association (AMMPA), and Gaetz was a speaker at two of the organization's conferences. The first took place in October 2017 when Gaetz was joined by Trump ally Roger Stone.

According to the Central Florida Post, the conference was immediately followed by a fundraiser for Gaetz's congressional campaign. The second was in May 2018 at the group's "NFL and Medical Cannabis Conference" in Miami.

FEC records reviewed by CBS News show that Pirozzolo made two separate donations of $1,000 each to Gaetz's campaign arm, "Friends of Matt Gaetz," in March 2016 and May 2017.

Gaetz's career looks more & more like badly burned toast to me each day.

[jserraglio]

like badly burned toast.

. . . crisped on the fire before Hell Gaetz?

THE DAILY BEAST When Joel Greenberg made his Venmo payments to three young women (one of whom had just turned 18), he described the money as being for “Tuition,” “School,” and “School.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/gaetz-pai ... enmod-teen