Matt Gaetz Evades Charges in Sex Trafficking Probe
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) will not be charged in connection with a years-long federal sex trafficking investigation, according to lawyers involved in the case.
Isabelle Kirshner, one of two attorneys representing Gaetz, told The Daily Beast in a statement that the Justice Department informed them of the decision on Wednesday.
“We have just spoken with the DOJ and have been informed that they have concluded their investigation into Congressman Gaetz and allegations related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice and they have determined not to bring any charges against him,” Kirshner wrote in the statement.
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CNN first reported that no charges would be brought. A Gaetz spokesperson also confirmed the decision to The Daily Beast.
The feds initially relied heavily on the firsthand account of Gaetz’s wingman, Joel Greenberg, a local Florida tax official who was taken down on corruption charges but turned into a cooperating witness. But as the investigation progressed, the DOJ collected mounting evidence that the congressman regularly interacted with young women for sex—making their ultimate decision all the more frustrating for Greenberg and his lawyer, Fritz Scheller.
“While the decision is troubling, it’s not surprising. After so many years of defense practice, I’'ve slowly come to the realization that our country has a two-tier system of justice,” he told The Daily Beast. “To be fair, why expend resources prosecuting the privileged, when there’s undoubtedly a minority out there with a small amount of pot?”
The investigation into Gaetz stemmed from allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl.
The feds were reportedly working to determine if Gaetz had paid or illegally trafficked across international lines to have sex with the girl. And Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend was granted immunity last year in exchange for her testimony in front of a federal grand jury.
The congressman denied all allegations against him vehemently, even after his buddy, disgraced Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg, penned a confession letter in 2021 that said he and Gaetz paid to have sex with multiple women, including the 17-year-old girl. Greenberg was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December after striking a plea deal related to his own sex trafficking probe.
Gaetz’s federal probe, launched in March 2021, appeared to trouble the congressman in its early days. It emerged during the Jan. 6 insurrection investigation that Gaetz had begged multiple aides of former President Donald Trump to have him issued a preemptive pardon—even before the feds had officially launched an investigation into him at all.
Gaetz Paid Accused Sex Trafficker, Who Then Venmo’d Teen
Gaetz reportedly told Trump aide Johnny McEntee that he didn't do anything wrong, but “they” were trying to make his life “hell,” McEntee reportedly testified.
In the weeks after The New York Times first broke news that Gaetz was under investigation, The Daily Beast revealed the key evidence that supported the case. Sources familiar with the arrangement between Gaetz and Greenberg described how Greenberg was the congressman’s fixer of sorts.
Private Venmo transactions showed how Gaetz sent Greenberg $900 late one night in May 2018, only to have Greenberg send the same amount of money to three young women the very next morning. During the years when the two were close, Greenberg made more than 150 Venmo payments to dozens of young women, and to a girl who was 17 at the time—one whom the congressman had named in a private message.
The Daily Beast also obtained several drafts of Greenberg’s confession letter, where he detailed how the congressman regularly relied on him to hook up with college students—as well as the underage teenager who became central to the feds’ investigation.
“On more than one occasion, this individual was involved in sexual activities with several of the other girls, the congressman from Florida’s 1st Congressional District and myself,” Greenberg wrote in reference to the 17-year-old.
“From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or partial tuition payments were made to several of these girls, including the individual who was not yet 18. I did see the acts occur firsthand and Venmo transactions, Cash App or other payments were made to these girls on behalf of the Congressman.”
As the FBI dug in, The Daily Beast also exposed how Gaetz had snorted cocaine at a party with an escort—a young woman who managed to secure a no-show job at a Florida county office at taxpayers’ expense.
Meanwhile, few details ever emerged about an event that played a central role in the investigation: a 2018 getaway in the Bahamas where Gaetz and his pals allegedly hung out with young women—including the teen—and allegedly paid for sex. That trip, which Greenberg did not attend, also involved then Florida state Rep. Halsey Beshears, and was reportedly part of a public corruption probe involving marijuana law.
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The breadth and scope of the evidence makes it all the more frustrating that the feds won’t pursue the case, Greeberg’s lawyer said on Wednesday.
“You’ve got multiple witnesses. You’ve got Venmos. You’ve got Uber receipts. You’ve got flight receipts and text messages,” Fritz fumed.
The ultimate decision to not prosecute the congressman was far from a forgone conclusion. Several witnesses and lawyers who spoke to The Daily Beast for the past two years on condition of anonymity regularly expressed disappointment that he hadn’t yet been indicted—but still held out hope, because local and federal investigators continued to unravel a web of crime that surrounded Greenberg and his associates.
Last year, Seminole County Republican Party chair Ben Paris was found guilty of hatching a scheme to run a non-existent “ghost” candidate. That corrupt operation siphoned votes away from a Democrat and propelled the Republican candidate, Jason Brodeur, notably a Gaetz ally, into the Florida state senate. The feds also successfully convicted a former radio shock jock who went by “Big Joe” Ellicott, a tag-along who knew all about the alleged Gaetz-Greenberg underage sex trafficking. The Daily Beast managed to obtain text messages in which Ellicott discussed his intimate knowledge of the sexual crimes. The Daily Beast also exposed how Ellicott was present at a key moment when Greenberg said he phoned Gaetz to inform him that one of the teens they’d allegedly paid for sex was underage.
As late as August, people familiar with the investigation were told that the feds were continuing to investigate the congressman.
This fall, several outlets reported that prosecutors had recommended against charging Gaetz, citing issues with the perceived credibility of the two central witnesses in the case—Greenberg and the 17-year-old girl, who has since gone on to a career in pornography and, according to The New York Times, “has said she does not believe she was a victim.”
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