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Did Trump ally Matt Gaetz have sexual relations with 17-year-old girl? Trolls say 'you Gaetz what you pay for'

Gaetz allegedly paid for the girl to travel with him across states, which could be in violation of federal sex-trafficking laws

Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, a close ally to former president Donald Trump, has been reportedly accused of having sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl. He is currently being investigated by the Department of Justice for violation of federal laws against sex trafficking, according to a report by The New York Times. Ironically, the 38-year-old GOP politician made headlines in the past for his lone no-vote stance in 2017 against the anti-human trafficking bill that was passed in both houses of Congress. 

Acknowledging an ongoing DOJ investigation against him, Gaetz told 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." Interestingly, just hours prior to the shocking exposé by New York Times, Axios reported that Gaetz was considering leaving Congress early to pursue a career in media at Newsmax. 

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Did Gaetz violate sex-trafficking laws?

The DOJ probe against Gaetz is a part of a larger investigation into Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg who was associated with Gaetz. Greenberg was charged last year with 14 felony counts including allegations of sex trafficking a minor, stalking political opponents, and using a state database for creating fake IDs. Meanwhile, the investigation with Gaetz as a subject was launched towards the end of Trump's presidency, at a time when William Barr still held the position of attorney general.

Reportedly, in 2019, Gaetz had sexual encounters with a 17-year-old girl. There is a possibility that he paid for her to travel with him across states, which would have violated the federal sex-trafficking laws - a matter being pursued keenly by the investigators. 

Speaking to The New York Times, Gaetz said, "I only know that it has to do with women. I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward." While speaking with Axios, Gaetz added that in his single days, he had provided for the women he dated, including paying for their flights and hotel rooms. Dubbing himself 'generous' as a partner, he said, "I think someone is trying to make that look criminal when it is not." The staunch Trump supporter is presently engaged to Ginger Luckey since 2020. 

Gaetz also emphasized that he was 'absolutely' confident that none of the women in his past were underage. "The allegations of sexual misconduct against me are false. They are rooted in an extortion effort against my family for $25 million … in exchange for making this case go away," he told Axios. 

Gaetz wants DOJ to 'immediately release the tapes'

Recently, Gaetz posted a long Twitter thread claiming that the probe against him is actually a part of an 'organized criminal extortion involving a former DOJ official seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name.' He also added that he and his family had been cooperating with federal authorities about the investigation, which includes his father wearing a wire under FBI directives.  

In the series of tweets, Matt Gaetz wrote: "Over the past several weeks my family and I have been victims of an organized criminal extortion involving a former DOJ official seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name. We have been cooperating with federal authorities in this matter...

...and my father has even been wearing a wire at the FBI’s direction to catch these criminals. The planted leak to the FBI tonight was intended to thwart that investigation.
No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets...

...of the ongoing extortion investigation.
I demand the DOJ immediately release the tapes, made at their direction, which implicate their former colleague in crimes against me based on false allegations."

However, Twitter users are not quite ready to believe in Gaetz's version of the matter. In fact, the GOP Rep is being massively criticized and even trolled on the social media platform. "You know what they say, you Gaetz what you pay for," tweeted one user, while another wrote, "How it started: Matt Gaetz was the only Congressperson to vote against the anti-human trafficking bill How it’s going: Matt Gaetz is the only Congressperson under investigation for child sex trafficking."

"The best part of the interview is when Matt Gaetz says and there are no pictures of me with underage prostitutes and everyone was like dude who said there were?" commented another. Celebrity guitarist and former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh said, "I got nothing to add to this bizarre Matt Gaetz story. I’ll wait for actual facts to come out. I will say this about Gaetz: He’s a perfect poster child for today’s proudly ignorant, unserious, unprincipled, Republican Party of grifters & trolls."

It remains to be seen whether Gaetz's Twitter revelation of his father wearing a wire actually hampers the FBI investigative process, as many are suggesting.