Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz said the “rumors” surrounding an alleged underage sex scandal will be addressed by his legal team after a report emerged claiming he sent money to an indicted associate who forwarded the same amount to three young women.
“The rumors, gossip, and self-serving misstatements of others will be addressed in due course by my legal team,” Gaetz said after the Daily Beast reported he sent two Venmo payments totaling $900 to accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg in May 2018.
The first payment was allegedly labeled “test” and the second “hit up _____,” which purportedly included a nickname of a young woman, according to the report. The outlet said it cited information from Gaetz’s Venmo history with Greenberg, as well as Greenberg’s credit card statements, examining areas of contact between the men and their overlapping transaction records.
The teenager’s nickname was removed from the report because “the teenager had only turned 18 less than six months before,” the outlet said.
After Gaetz’s payments, Greenberg apparently sent money to three young women with labels including “Tuition,” “School,” and “School,” which totaled $900. The outlet noted Gaetz’s public Venmo record disappeared while it was investigating the transactions and did not post screenshots or images of the transactions in question.
The Washington Examiner was not able to confirm the claim independently, but it did reach out to Gaetz and the Daily Beast for comment.
The Logan Circle Group, a Washington-based consulting agency, is working with Gaetz on the matter.
The group is run by former Democrat and Trump surrogate Harlan Hill. His colleague Erin Elmore, an attorney and a former contestant on The Apprentice, sent the Washington Examiner a statement from Gaetz’s office. Elmore did not offer further comment.
“Matt has always been a fighter. A fighter for his constituents, a fighter for the country, and a fighter for the Constitution. He’s going to fight back against the unfounded allegations against him. His legal team, led by Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirshner, will take the fight to those trying to smear his name with falsehoods,” a spokesperson for the congressman’s office wrote.
GAETZ ASSOCIATE LIKELY TO AGREE TO PLEA DEAL, ATTORNEYS SAY
Gaetz is under a Justice Department investigation into claims that he had a sexual relationship with a minor and paid for her to travel with him, the New York Times reported. The congressman’s lawyers had been in touch with the Justice Department and were told he was the subject, not the target, of investigators.
“I only know that it has to do with women,” Gaetz said in response to the report. “I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”
He later said, “It is verifiably false that I have traveled with a 17-year-old woman.”
Gaetz is reportedly being looked at as part of a broader investigation into Greenberg, a political ally who was indicted in 2020 on several charges, including sex trafficking of a minor and financially supporting people in exchange for sex, at least one of whom was an underage girl.
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Eight female staffers from the Florida representative’s office signed off on a letter defending Gaetz’s character, writing Thursday that “he has treated each and every one of us with respect.”
