The U.S. Department of Justice has decided to close down a sex trafficking probe involving Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), according to his lawyers, ending the case without filing any charges against the congressman.
“We have just spoken with the DOJ and have been informed that they have concluded their investigation into Congressman Gaetz and allegations related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice and they have determined not to bring any charges against him,” Gaetz’s lawyer Isabelle Kirshner told NTD on Wednesday.
The decision to drop the charges comes almost two years after Gaetz announced he was actively being investigated by the DOJ. Gaetz came forward about the investigation after a New York Times article raised allegations he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him. That New York Times report relied on three unnamed sources.
Gaetz maintained his innocence throughout the duration of the investigation.
“The allegations against me are as searing as they are false,” Gaetz said in a phone interview with Axios. “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.”
“I have definitely, in my single days, provided for women I’ve dated,” Gaetz added. “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.”
Gaetz remained a target of this DOJ investigation throughout the 2022 campaign cycle, and the DOJ’s apparent decision to drop the case comes after Gaetz won reelection in the 2022 midterms.
Tim Jansen, a Florida attorney who represented one of the witnesses in the DOJ investigation, told NTD that the DOJ’s policy was not to publicly comment on the investigation. Jansen, who represented one of Gaetz’s ex-girlfriends, said the DOJ did inform him on Wednesday that his client would not need to testify because they were not pursuing charges.
Gaetz’s Defense
From early on in the case, Gaetz said he believes the allegations are rooted in an “organized criminal extortion involving a former DOJ official seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name.” Gaetz claimed a former DOJ official had contacted his family and requested $25 million to make the investigation against Gaetz go away.
Gaetz did not specify which former DOJ official was involved in the alleged extortion effort, but said his family had worked with the FBI to stop the extortion effort. Gaetz said his father had worn a recording device to catch the extortion effort and he called on the DOJ to release the recordings “which implicate their former colleague in crimes against me based on false allegations.” It remains to be seen if Gaetz will still pursue the release of these alleged recordings, now that the investigation has ended.
Gaetz refused to resign over the allegations and continued his 2022 campaign despite the negative public inferences created by the DOJ’s investigation.
Gaetz’s Democratic opponent, Rebekah Jones, made direct and indirect references to the allegations against the Republican congressman during the 2022 election cycle. During an election debate, Jones drew negative inferences against Gaetz, saying he “voted against almost every sex-trafficking bill that was ever brought to Congress.”
In September, the Washington Post reported that federal prosecutors had recommended not to charge Gaetz, due in part to credibility concerns over two of the key witnesses in the case. Despite this reported recommendation against charging Gaetz, the DOJ never publicly addressed the case.
Gaetz won the 2022 election with 67.8 percent of the vote against Jones’s 32.2 percent.
Joel Greenberg, an associate of Gaetz, pled guilty to sex trafficking and other charges in May 2021. Greenberg’s sentencing was delayed as he reportedly cooperated with the DOJ. It’s not clear if Greenberg made any allegations that could implicate Gaetz. Prosecutors finally agreed to let sentencing against Greenberg proceed in December, without them bringing any other charges.
Jones has continued to make references to the investigation against Gaetz even after the election.
NTD reached out to Gaetz’s office for comment but did not receive a response by press time.