WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 03: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks during a news conference to announce the "Green Real Deal" on April 3, 2019 in Washington, DC. The "Green Real Deal" is a resolution intended to serve as a response to the "Green New Deal" promoted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA). The "Green New Deal" acknowledges climate change and says the government should promote innovation to prevent greenhouse gas emissions. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
Prosecutors have granted immunity to an ex-girlfriend of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) before she testified in the investigation of Gaetz. She testified last Wednesday in front of a federal grand jury in Orlando, Florida.
Gaetz is currently under investigation as to whether he violated sex trafficking laws and obstructed justice during the initial probe. He has previously denied wrongdoing, and has claimed that he has never paid for sex nor had sex with a minor.
Isabelle Kirshner, an attorney for Gaetz, said in a statement last week that “we have seen no credible basis for a charge against Congressman Gaetz. We remain steadfast in our commitment to challenge any allegations with the facts and law.”
The anonymous ex-girlfriend is viewed as a potential key witness in the case. A source said that she has information related to the allegations of both sex trafficking and obstruction.
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As a part of an obstruction probe, investigators are reportedly examining whether Gaetz had a phone call with the ex-girlfriend and another woman. The other woman was already a witness in the federal investigation.
Multiple sources have claimed that the ex-girlfriend and two other women, one of whom had a sexual relationship with Gaetz, traveled with the congressman to the Bahamas in 2018. The woman in a sexual relationship with Gaetz was 18 at the time, but investigators are seeking to learn whether she was under 18 when the relationship began.
Two sources said that Joel Greenberg, former Florida county tax collector and associate of Gaetz’s, introduced Gaetz to the woman when she was 17. Greenberg pleaded guilty in May 2021 to six federal charges, including the trafficking of a minor.
Investigators are also attempting to learn if any of the women on the 2018 trip were paid and illegally trafficked across state or international borders for the purpose of sex with Gaetz.
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