The DOJ is reportedly investigating whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and looking into whether Gaetz violated federal sex-trafficking laws.
Gaetz called the allegations false and said none of the women he’d dated were minors.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and if he violated federal laws against sex trafficking in the process, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Gaetz confirmed the existence of the investigation to Axios, 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.”
The inquiry, The Times said, is part of a larger investigation into Joel Greenberg, a tax collector in Florida associated with Gaetz who was charged last year with 14 felony counts related to allegations that he stalked a political opponent, used a state database to create fake IDs, and carried out the sex trafficking of a minor between the ages of 14 and 17.
According to The Times, the department launched its investigation into Gaetz near the end of President Trump’s term, when Bill Barr was still the attorney general. Senior Justice Department officials, including some Trump appointees, were briefed on the investigation, given its high-profile nature, the report said.
Gaetz’s encounters with the girl allegedly took place in 2019, The Times reported, citing “people briefed on the situation.” And investigators are looking into whether he paid for her to travel with him across state lines and broke federal sex-trafficking laws in doing so, the news outlet added.
The Florida congressman told Axios and The Times that his lawyers were informed that he was the subject, not the target, of “an investigation regarding sexual conduct with women.” A subject is someone whose conduct falls within the scope of an investigation, and a target is someone whom investigators may believe they have enough evidence against to charge with a crime.
“I only know that it has to do with women,” Gaetz told The Times. “I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”
He told Axios: “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.”
Asked whether any of the women he interacted with were minors, Gaetz said he was “absolutely” sure none of them were.
