Tuesday night’s bombshell report that Congressman Matt Gaetz is being investigated into a possible relationship with a 17-year-old in the DOJ took another wild turn when New York Times reporter Katie Benner revealed Attorney General Bill Barr or his office approved the investigation.
Benner also went on in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Tuesday evening, revealing that the investigation began earlier, late last summer, rather than late last year.
“This is a serious investigation, and it was serious enough that even the highest levels of the Justice Department, including the Office of Attorney General Bill Barr, said it should continue,” said Benner.
She also asked why Rep. Gaetz went public with specific details after the New York Times released its report Tuesday, saying that the Florida Republican Congressman “blew up” the FBI investigation by he named former DOJ officer Gaetz, who blackmailed him and his family in a $ 25 million extortion program.
“I think one of the reasons he spoke publicly about this extortion, and one of the reasons he publicly said the FBI asked his own father to wear a wire, is to try to get people to do it In fact, the Trump administration thought it worth investigating, “Benner said.
“When he speaks publicly about the extortion he describes and publicly says his father was wearing a wire, he is basically destroying and blasting the FBI investigation, which in itself is something one would think would be against own interest is “, added Benner.
Gaetz denies doing anything wrong, including refusing to have a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, and instead blames the former DOJ official. But Benner said both stories could be true: there is an investigation into his high-level DOJ-approved actions, and a former DOJ official found out and blackmailed him. She did not state that Gaetz’s claim to extortion was true, only that it was possible.
See:
Katie Benner (@ktbenner), featured in today’s NYT coverage of Matt Gaetz, explains the schedule of the Gaetz investigation and how Gaetz’s claim of a blackmail plot fits into the investigation’s longer timeline.
(Very clarifying!) Pic.twitter.com/G44cqSZjEy
– Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) March 31, 2021
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