Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz said he is being investigated for alleged criminal sexual activity with a minor and claims a former Department of Justice official is behind a $25 million plot to extort him and his family.
The 38-year-old congressman is being eyed as part of a broader investigation into Joel Greenberg, a political ally who was indicted in 2020 on charges including sex trafficking of a minor and financially supporting people in exchange for sex, at least one of whom was an underage girl, the New York Times reported.
“I was not a target but a subject of an investigation regarding sexual conduct with women,” Gaetz said.
The New York Times reported that Gaetz is being investigated as to “whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him.”
MATT GAETZ NAMES FORMER DOJ OFFICIAL HE SAYS TRIED TO EXTORT HIS FAMILY FOR $25M
Gaetz is one of the leading conservative figures in the House and an ally of former President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, he spoke on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show responding to reports that he is under a DOJ investigation over a former relationship.
The 17-year-old in question “doesn’t exist” and Gaetz has “not had a relationship with a 17-year-old. That is totally false,” he told Carlson.
Gaetz said someone is alleging there are photos of him with “child prostitutes,” which he said was “obviously false.”
The allegations raised against Gaetz are “unclear” and he has been told “very little,” he said.
“The allegations of sexual misconduct against me are false,” Gaetz said. “They are rooted in an extortion effort against my family for $25 million … in exchange for making this case go away.”
Gaetz and his family had been victims of organized crime efforts seeking large sums of money or threatening to smear his name, he said. Don Gaetz co-founded VITAS Healthcare Corp. in 1983 and sold it in 2004 for nearly half a billion dollars.
“We have been cooperating with federal authorities in this matter, and my father has even been wearing a wire at the FBI’s direction to catch these criminals,” he added.
During his interview with Carlson on Tuesday, Gaetz named David McGee, an attorney with Beggs & Lane, as the former DOJ official who was trying to extort him and his family.
McGee served for six years as the first assistant at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and for seven years as the lead attorney for the DOJ’s Organized Crime Task Force, according to his biography on the website of his law firm, which is based in Pensacola, Florida.
The congressman called on the DOJ to release audio tapes that he claimed would “implicate” the former DOJ official “in crimes against me based on false allegations.”
In a comment to the Daily Beast, McGee called any claims he or his law firm were involved in extortion “completely, totally false.”
“This is a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that Matt Gaetz is apparently about to be indicted for sex trafficking underage girls,” McGee said.
Gaetz said he did not know how long the investigation had been going on, which reportedly was opened during the final months of the Trump administration under Attorney General William Barr.
When asked what the charges could pertain to, Gaetz said, “I have definitely, in my single days, provided for women I’ve dated. You know, I’ve paid for flights, for hotel rooms. I’ve been, you know, generous as a partner. I think someone is trying to make that look criminal when it is not.”
The congressman is “absolutely” confident none of the women were underage, he said.
Prior to the New York Times report on Gaetz, Axios reported earlier on Wednesday that the congressman might not seek reelection and would pursue a media job at Newsmax.
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The Washington Examiner reached out to the DOJ, the White House, and McGee, but did not immediately receive a response. The FBI referred the Washington Examiner to the DOJ.
