At the end of March, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz became the focus of a federal investigation regarding sex trafficking.
The Justice Department launched an investigation when allegations of Gaetz paying an underage girl for sex became public. The allegations also implied that Gaetz paid to travel with this child so as to abuse her while his family was on vacation.
In a public statement, Gaetz vehemently denied these claims, saying that the federal government was “attacking him.”
The investigation began when Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg indicated that Gaetz was a part of his criminal activity. In June of 2020, Greenberg was arrested for stalking, exploitation of a minor via sex trafficking and identity theft. During his interviews with the Justice Department and Florida police, Greenberg gave authorities information that connected to the Gaetz investigation.
The Justice Department is currently under the impression that Greenberg would “recruit” women sold into sex trafficking so that Gaetz could have sexual relations with them.
In 2018, Gaetz sent Greenberg $900 via Venmo, a money transfer app. Over the following twenty–four hours, Greenberg sent varying amounts of money to three underage girls. It was determined that the three sums added together equate to the amount Greenberg received from Gatz.
Greenberg then sent these girls Gaetz’s contact information, leading to the two men connecting with these girls online multiple times.
Since Greenberg was arrested, Gaetz has deleted the data cache of his Venmo transaction history, which is another piece of evidence that the Justice Department found suspicious during their investigation.
On Twitter, Gaetz publicly stated that the investigation was a smear campaign led by the Justice Department and that the claims were impossible to prove. During this string of tweets, Gaetz went on to demand that the investigation be made public, so the masses can see that he is innocent.
A week later, Gaetz told The New York Times that he was unsure what the reasoning behind the investigation was — a direct contradiction to his posts on social media.
In April, Gaetz began capitalizing on these accusations by asking his supporters for financial contributions.
In a leaked email, Gaetz refers to the allegations of him hiring sex slaves as “his dating life” (a fact that does not paint him in the best light). The conclusion of this email included a link where Gaetz’s supporters could financially donate to “help put an end to fake news.”
This email conveniently shifts the blame from Gaetz to the women he exploited and the Justice Department for opening an investigation while somehow still being able to beg for money.
As of April 8, Gaetz is facing the social consequences of this investigation. Greenberg’s attorney has stated that he may testify as a witness against Gaetz during the trial. A billboard with the message “Matt Gaetz wants to ‘date’ your child” has been constructed in Gaetz’s Florida district, making it difficult for the congressman and his constituents to ignore the allegations.
He has also lost several members of his staff. Devin Murphy and Luke Ball resigned from their positions under Gaetz shortly after the investigation became known, stating that they did not want to be associated with the type of man who would exploit trafficking victims.
While Gaetz has hired a team of lawyers, a trial date has yet to be announced by the Justice Department.
Graphic by Micheal Yelton
