Bombshell text messages allegedly reveal that Matt Gaetz had asked a young woman, who had paid his now-jailed boyfriend Joel Greenberg for sex, to join him on a three-day excursion to the Florida Keys.
The messages, reported by ABC newsis said to have taken place in May 2017, months after the Florida Republican was sworn in.
Texts detailed to the outlet show Gaetz asking the woman to fly on a private plane and join him, another woman and three other men in the Keys.
“Hey, any interest in flying to the keys on a private plane from May 19 to 21?” the congressman reportedly wrote.
Newly reported text messages show Matt Gaetz inviting a young woman, who had paid his now-imprisoned boyfriend Joel Greenberg for sex, to join him on a three-day excursion to the Florida Keys
Gaetz, pictured with his wife Ginger, has consistently denied all allegations of wrongdoing against him and the DOJ decided last year not to prosecute.
Gaetz told the woman, described by ABC News as “over 21,” that the trip would include “two boys and four girls.” An adventurous group of very high quality.’
“Yes, I’m in,” the woman replied.
Gaetz then reportedly wrote back: “Fantastic. As is the case with all the time you spend with me, it will be fun and chill (…) Do you have a passport?’
ABC reports that the woman ultimately never went on the trip.
Greenberg reportedly told investigators that he paid the woman to have sex with other men on their behalf.
Gaetz’s office denied that the congressman ever knew Greenberg had paid the woman for sex.
Bank and Venmo records show payments from Greenberg to the woman who sources say would have sex at parties with Greenberg’s friends.
The committee is reportedly in possession of a photo of Gaetz and the woman.
‘Representative. Gaetz has no knowledge of these activities of Mr. Greenberg and was not involved in them. Representative Gaetz has never paid for sex. Rep. Gaetz knows nothing about the woman you’re referring to, even though he takes thousands of selfies every year.”
Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in May 2021 for sex trafficking of a minor and stalking a political opponent in a plea deal with prosecutors.
He was a key witness in the Justice Department’s investigation into allegations that Gaetz also trafficked the same minor for sex, although the DOJ decided not to file charges against Gaetz.
The House Ethics Committee first opened an investigation into Gaetz in April 2021, but paused it during the DOJ investigation and has since reopened it.
The House Ethics Committee first opened an investigation into Gaetz in April 2021, but dropped it during the DOJ probe and has since reopened it
House investigators are looking into whether Gaetz paid for sex and allegations of drug use and lobbying violations.
According to a 2021 New York Times report, investigators believed that Gaetz and disgraced Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg instructed women they met online “to meet at certain times and places, often in hotels in Florida, and tell them the amount of money.” they were willing to pay.”
Gaetz, who has been married to Ginger Luckey since 2021, says the allegations are a gross mischaracterization of his single days. And the investigation ended without any charges against him.
“I definitely, in my single days, took care of women I dated,” Gaetz told Axios. “You know, I paid for flights and for hotel rooms. I’ve been, you know, generous as a partner.”
Greenberg reportedly told investigators that he paid the woman to have sex with other men on their behalf. Gaetz’s office denied that the congressman ever knew Greenberg had paid the woman for sex
He later told then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, “The New York Times publishes a story that I traveled with a 17-year-old woman and it is demonstrably false. People can look at my travel details and see that that is not the case.’
In September 2018, three separate private flights departed Orlando, Florida for a weekend getaway to the Bahamas with passengers including five young women.
Gaetz flew to the same destination – but commercially.
Sources told Politico in a 2021 report that Gaetz was joined in the Bahamas by GOP allies Halsey Beshears, then a state lawmaker, and Jason Pirozzolo, a hand surgeon and Republican fundraiser for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.