Former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida has finally gotten some good news after members of his own party colluded with Democrats to screw him over weeks after he left Congress. You may recall that, before Christmas, the GOP-dominated “Ethics” Committee did something very unethical: Members voted in secret to release a 37-page ‘report’ making several so-far unsubstantiated allegations against the former firebrand lawmaker involving potentially illegal behavior with a minor girl.
Allegations of Matt Gaetz’s involvement in various schemes and crimes—including claims of illegal drug use, bribery, and the alleged sexual trafficking of a 17-year-old girl—severely damaged his nomination prospects. These issues were further compounded by his contentious relationships with many of his fellow House Republicans.
His former associate, Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County Tax Collector, is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to charges of paying a 17-year-old girl for sex and providing her with illegal drugs. In his plea agreement, Greenberg admitted to introducing the minor to other adult men who engaged in commercial sex acts, though he did not identify any of those individuals by name.
Mind you, the extremely partisan Biden Justice Department investigated these claims and, after about two years, concluded that there wasn’t any evidence to substantiate them, much less charge Gaetz. But that wasn’t good enough for the RINOs on the Ethics Committee; over Speaker Mike Johnson’s objections, members voted to release the report anyway and again, did so behind closed doors like cowards so often do.
Now, however, Gaetz has gotten some good news from law enforcement officials in the Sunshine State. Mike DeForest, an investigative reporter with WKMG, a CBS affiliate in Orlando, tweeted that he had emailed Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office to ask “if she thinks a state investigation into Matt Gaetz is warranted for any crimes alleged by the House Ethics Committee that are not barred by a statute of limitations.” He said that he got an automated reply because her office was out for the holidays.
Not long after, however, DeForest did receive a reply from Statewide Prosecutor Nick Cox, which said: “Allegations of violations of state criminal law would be investigated by law enforcement in the appropriate jurisdiction, such as a local police department, sheriff’s office or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. To determine if the agencies in the relevant jurisdictions have received information from the House Ethics Committee or have initiated investigations, you would need to contact those law enforcement agencies directly. Single-circuit crimes would be prosecuted by the state attorney where the crime occurred.”
“At that point, federal law enforcement requested to take over the investigation because the case involved more serious federal charges. As a result, the SCSO ceased its involvement, and federal agencies took over the continued and expanded investigation as directed out of Washington, D.C.,” the SCSO statement said.
“By the time federal investigators had a verbal conversation with the SCSO regarding their findings and decision not to pursue federal charges, the state’s statute of limitations had long expired. Since the statute of limitations for these alleged crimes has expired and no victim or sworn affidavit has been provided, we are unable to conduct an independent investigation, regardless of the findings from the House of Representatives Committee on Ethics,” the statement added.
When members of his own party stabbed Gaetz in the back, law enforcement officials in his home state stepped up and had his back.
