The Justice Department (DOJ) has formally decided not to charge Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) in a sex-trafficking investigation.
“The Department of Justice has confirmed to Congressman Gaetz’s attorneys that their investigation has concluded and that he will not be charged with any crimes,” Gaetz’s office told The Daily Wire on Wednesday.
CNN first reported that DOJ officials informed witnesses of the decision by DOJ leadership. The Daily Wire reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Investigators were reportedly looking into whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, participated in sex trafficking, and obstructed justice in the ensuing probe. An alleged trip to the Bahamas in 2018 was of particular interest, according to CBS News.
Gaetz, 40, has long denied any wrongdoing. The congressman said he never paid for sex. He also asserted that he never had sex with a minor, claiming he only had sex with a 17-year-old when he was 17, per The Washington Post.
The investigation into Gaetz began in 2020, and leaks about it emerged in the press the following year, around the same time the congressman said his family had been targeted by a $25 million extortion scheme. A judge later sentenced Florida businessman Stephen Alford to about five years in prison for a plot to defraud Gaetz’s father.
In the federal sex-trafficking case, prosecutors reportedly recommended against charging Gaetz back in the fall because two key witnesses had questionable credibility.
One of the witnesses was a female with whom Gaetz was allegedly involved when she was 17. Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector in Seminole County, Florida, and a friend of Gaetz was identified as the second witness.
Greenberg pleaded guilty to charges of underage sex trafficking, wire fraud, stalking, identity theft, producing a fake ID card, and conspiring to defraud the U.S. government. A Florida judge sentenced Greenberg to 11 years in prison last December after Greenberg cooperated with the Justice Department’s investigation.
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