The consequences for Matt Gaetz’s sex trafficking scandal haven’t quite hit the fan for the Florida representative, but Thursday brought another indication that the Donald Trump surrogate has some major legal hurdles ahead of him. Despite refusing to acknowledge the severity of the probe into his dealings with a minor, the Justice Department’s inquiry into the case reportedly has him ready for a “scorched-earth” trial if charges do materialize. And now we know things do, indeed, continue to escalate toward charges.
As the New York Times and several other outlets reported, two federal prosecutors have been added to his ongoing investigation, which is not a good sign that things are going well in the potential crimes department.
The Justice Department has added two top prosecutors from Washington to the child sex trafficking investigation of Representative Matt Gaetz, according to two people briefed on the matter, a sign of the complex and high-stakes nature of the inquiry into Mr. Gaetz, a Florida Republican who is one of former President Donald J. Trump’s closest congressional allies.
The prosecutors — one a public corruption investigator with an expertise in child exploitation crimes, and the other a top leader of the public corruption unit — have been working on the Florida-based investigation for at least three months, the people said.
As the Times report indicates, this kind of thing tends to happen when cases continue to get complicated. And it’s also another sign that the Biden Justice Department seems intent on actually prosecuting the politician. The report also noted that Gaetz’s alleged co-conspirator, disgraced Florida politician Joel Greenberg, recently saw his sentencing delayed as part of his plea deal where he’s cooperating with authorities.
It’s all bad news for Gaetz, in other words. But if you ask him, it’s just another day in the life of America’s greatest freedom fighter.
The Pro-America Squad pic.twitter.com/7TRAGWtsNq
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) October 21, 2021
Though that got a lot of reactions similar to this online.
I knew I just saw that picture. https://t.co/hbbezYjHQh
— MF (@gal_suburban) October 21, 2021
Time will tell if Gaetz actually gets charged, and if the politician will actually be convicted. But it’s a much worse situation than he seems willing to admit.
[via NY Times]