Matt Gaetz’s Protection in Intercourse Trafficking Case Is Already Falling Aside: Report

According to a report by the Daily Beast, the first defense Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) offered when he was accused of sex trafficking is falling apart as investigators investigate his allegations.

As Roger Sollenberger relates of the beast, the embattled Republican from Florida began his defense on Fox News and told host Tucker Carlson, “It’s a terrible charge and it’s a lie,” before adding, “The New York Times tells one Story that I traveled with a 17 year old woman and that is proven wrong. People can look at my travel documents and find out that it doesn’t. “

However, according to Jordan Libowitz, Washington’s director of communications for Citizens Responsibility and Ethics, Gaet’z’s travelogues offer him no help in his defense.

“The spending on the Gaetz campaign just doesn’t say what to say,” Libowitz explained before adding: “First, the reports don’t provide any specific information. and second, it’s not clear if he’s even saying that his campaign submissions will exonerate him. If he pays out of pocket, we will not know the answers without a subpoena. “

As Sollenberger reports, an examination of the Florida Republican’s travel reports raises even more questions – particularly regarding his relationship with a friend who is already being investigated by authorities.

“As Gaetz knows, his campaign files do not contain any information that would prove that he never participated in a sex ring or paid for the travel of an underage minor. However, his records show that Gaetz had a close relationship with Joel Greenberg – the Seminole County’s tax collector on charges of sexual trafficking. “The report said before the two made a controversial visit to a state office over a weekend to allegedly get a new driver’s license or ID card for Gaetz.

Finding that the GOP legislature is not based in Seminole County, the report adds, “Gaetz is not based in Seminole County. The initial information on the county driver’s license website states that the office will only process residents of Seminole County for ALL driver’s license or ID card services. No exceptions are made. The website tells applicants that a ticket for driver’s license or ID card services will NOT be serviced if they cannot provide proof of residence. “

Libowitz: “It makes sense if he has to pick up the ID. But I don’t know why a seated congressman couldn’t do this alone in his own county and why he’d have to get a friend to do it for him. “

Commenting on Gaetz’s travel documents, he added, “You can only use campaign funds for electoral efforts. On the theory that he went to Orlando to illegally obtain a license, he would have a tough argument – that it is appropriate to use your campaign to circumvent state law. And that would be a stretch. “

Brendan Fischer, director of federal reform at the Government Guard of the Campaign Legal Center, agreed with the beast, saying, “This is something the FEC should catch. It’s hard to tell on the face who traveled for what purpose. So it can be very difficult to tell the difference between legitimate spending and personal use of funds from just a public report. “

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