- Rep. Matt Gates is under investigation into whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid her to travel with him.
- Eight sources familiar with the investigation told The Daily Beast that the investigation is still ongoing.
- According to the report, any updates on the case could be released after mid-November.
The Justice Department’s investigation into whether Rep. Matt Gates had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid her to travel with him hasn’t made much of a splash recently because it was First reported in 2021but an investigation appears to be underway, according to a new report.
Eight people familiar with the inquiry tell the daily beast The case is still under investigation, but no formal charges have been filed against the Florida congressman.
However, if there are any updates to the case, it could be announced after the November midterms to avoid signs of election interference, two lawyers told the publication.
Gates has repeatedly denied the allegations. He claimed in a March 2021 tweet that the charges were part of an “organized criminal extortion” scheme involving a former Justice Department official seeking $25 million from Gaetz and his family.
A spokesman for Gaetz told Insider they would not “comment Insider on matters he is considering suing Insider.”
— Matt Gates (@mattgaetz) March 30, 2021
On Tuesday, a Florida businessman named Stephen M. Alford was sentenced to more than five years in prison for attempting to defraud the congressman’s father, Don Gaetz, of $25 million.
Alford claimed he could make the Gates investigation go away or get a presidential pardon in exchange for the money, According to the Department of Justice.
The DOJ’s investigation of Gates stems from another investigation into Joel Greenberg, one of the members of Congress.
Greenberg, also a former tax collector in Seminole, Florida, pleaded guilty in May 2021 to several federal crimes, including trafficking a minor who was under the age of 18 at the time.
“Greenberg also introduced the minor to other adult men who engaged in commercial sex with minors in the Central District of Florida,” the Justice Department said.
exist a letter obtained by the daily beast In the spring of 2021, The Daily Beast said Greenberg was written by Greenberg, who reportedly claimed he and Gaetz paid for sex with multiple women, including a 17-year-old girl.
“From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or part of school fees were paid to several of these girls, including those under the age of 18. I have literally witnessed these acts and Venmo transactions, cash apps or other payments made to these girls on behalf of MPs did,” The Daily Beast said Greenberg wrote, citing Gates.
The PR firm representing Gaetz told the media in response to The Daily Beast’s coverage of the letter as follows:
“Congressman Gates has never paid for sex or had sex with a 17-year-old adult. We’re now a month away from the first time this lie was reported by your media and others, and no one recorded it in the The case directly accuses any of him. However, political, Mr. Greenberg reportedly threatened to make false accusations against others, which seems noteworthy to your story and actually sounds like what your story is all about. Congressman Gates had no role in supporting or opposing a pardon for Greenberg, and even doubted that such a pardon was ever considered. “
In January, Gates’ ex-girlfriend testified during a federal grand jury investigation into possible sexual crimes by members of Congress, NBC News reports.
Gates won the primary for Florida’s first congressional district on Tuesday. He will face off against former data scientist Rebekah Jones in mid-November.
