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The Republican is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, who he allegedly paid to travel with him.
New witnesses have emerged to testify against Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, bolstering the ongoing sex trafficking investigation against the conservative brought on by the House Ethics Committee.
The Republican, who has an extensive anti-LGBTQ+ record, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, who he allegedly paid to travel with him. ABC News reports that "multiple new witnesses" have been contacted, including Joel Greenberg, a previous close friend of Gaetz, who agreed to provide "substantial assistance" to prosecutors.
Greenberg was sentenced to 11 years in prison in May, 2021, after pleading guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and sex trafficking a minor. He admitted to introducing the girl to other "adult men" to have sex with her while she was underage, the outlet also reported at the time.
An investigation into the Florida Republican was first launched in 2021, with the House Ethics Committee stating that 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."
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Investigators initially recommended not moving forward with charges against the conservative after he was probed by a grand jury in 2022. The committee later said in January, 2023 that it "had not completed its investigation into this matter," and had "deferred consideration of the matter in response to a request from DOJ."
Then, in June, 2023, the committee stated it was re-examining the allegations at the behest of the Department of Justice. The updates from this week reveal the specific inquiries of the investigation, which center both on the sex trafficking allegations as well as possible lobbying violations.
While Gaetz has previously denied the allegations, he did not address them in his most recent statement to ABC, rather choosing to attack the committee, stating: "It's great to see the Ethics Committee has interests beyond trading stocks. They seem to be quite the unusual whales."
