The Daily Wire revealed on Friday that prosecutors have decided not to pursue sex trafficking charges against Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.
The outlet cited a report from the Washington Post which pointed to unnamed individuals “familiar with the matter.”
Credibility issues
The sources indicated that prosecutors have determined that a pair of central witnesses have uncertain credibility. That claim was reportedly corroborated by other sources who spoke with CNN and Politico.
One of those witnesses is Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County, Florida tax collector who has been charged with over 30 crimes and has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking.
Another is a woman who Gaetz was accused of paying for sex when she was 17 years old, something the congressman has repeatedly denied.
Gaetz maintains his innocence
Gaetz has long maintained his innocence, telling Axios during a March of 2021 interview, saying, “The allegations against me are as searing as they are false.”
“I believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to criminalize my sexual conduct, you know when I was a single guy,” he added.
Later, The Florida congressman also told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he was the victim of an attempt at extortion.
Extortion?
Gaetz said, “the whole concept of sex charges against me was really just a way to try to bleed my family out of money and probably smear my name because I am a well-known outspoken conservative and I guess that’s out of style in a lot of parts of the country right now.”
The Daily Wire quoted a spokesperson for Gaetz’s office telling CNN last week, “Those who told lies about Rep. Matt Gaetz are going to prison, and Rep. Matt Gaetz is going back to Congress to continue fighting for America.”
What’s more, Gaetz retweeted independent journalist Tim Pool who agreed with the congressman’s claim of being targeted for extortion.
seems like the whole thing was an extortion scheme against Matt Gaetz’s family pic.twitter.com/HJ0OljAamz
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) September 23, 2022