GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz Now Accused Of Orgy With Sex Trafficked Minors
We could be witnessing the end of Matt Gaetz
YouTube “That was one of the weirdest interviews I’ve ever conducted,” said Fox News anchor, Tucker Carlson. He’d just spoken with Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who’s currently under investigation for sex trafficking.
Gaetz is alleged to have had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her travel and other expenses while she accompanied him across state lines, a situation that violates federal law. In addition, new details are emerging about an orgy he participated in with sex trafficked minors.
In the interview, Gaetz brought up the fact that we might see pictures of him with underage teens, a detail in a story that hadn't yet come to light.
But now, reporting from The Washington Examiner reveals that Gaetz allegedly took part in an orgy with sex trafficked teenagers.
Gaetz went on the right wing talk show just hours after the initial story broke.
Viewers likely expected him to defend himself against the allegations and clear the air. Instead, he managed to dig himself a bigger grave and drag Carlson down with him.
“I don’t think that clarified much,” Carlson said after it was all said and done. “I don’t quite understand it.”
What Carlson didn’t understand was a wild tale of nonsensical twists that Gaetz offered up to explain away the crimes he’s allegedly committed. The story involved his own father participating in an FBI investigation while wearing a wire to ensnare shady criminals that Gaetz claims are attempting to smear him.
The GOP House member further stated that the smear campaign is an extortion scheme that’s meant to blackmail him for $25 million.
He initially laid out his conspiracy theory hand waving in a series of Tweets that read like the dime novel thriller section of a lonely bookstore in Crazytown.
Gaetz is also one of several Republicans who cozied up to Trump during the reign of the former president’s dangerous misinformation spree that resulted in over half a billion American deaths from Covid and culminated in the January 6 Capitol riots.
After lawmakers were evacuated and ran for their lives to evade the militant occupation and attempted insurrection coordinated by radical right-wing groups, many Republicans returned to the floor to continue to object to Joe Biden’s presidential legitimacy. Matt Gaetz was one of them.
Even after the vile rhetoric he espoused led to the deaths of American citizens and law enforcement at the hands of an angry extremist group, Gaetz doubled down. He later falsely claimed that Antifa was responsible for the attack.
In hindsight, while allegations of misconduct are still only in the initial stages of investigation, certain observations may begin to demonstrate a pattern of behavior over time.
For instance, in 2017, Gaetz was the sole vote against a bill that would provide resources to fight human trafficking. The bill passed the House 418 to 1, and passed the Senate unanimously. House Leader Kevin McCarthy had “no idea whatsoever why he would vote against that,” when asked by Fox News.
And, in the midst of the pandemic, with restrictions on social distancing and warnings from every public health agency in full force, Gaetz attended the annual gala of the New York chapter of the Young Republicans, creating a media storm of accusations along with promises of a detailed investigation.
In the resulting fallout, participants claimed that the event, which took place in New Jersey, met with all the state’s current Covid regulations. The image problem for Gaetz only deepens, however, as we now know that he’s accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old.
It’s not out of the question to speculate that attending a gathering for young people who align themselves with his political ideology and may look to him as a role model could serve as a potential grooming environment for Gaetz.
The GOP congressman faces a dearth of obstacles to his credibility, not the least of which is actually himself.
Not only is the story he’s offered in his own defense so bizarre it’s laughable -- though he says the FBI can release evidence from an ongoing investigation that would clear him -- he’s provided details of further misconduct that hadn’t yet come out.
On live television, Gaetz told a national audience that there are pictures of him with child prostitutes. Then, he went on to drag Tucker Carlson into the fray by letting everyone know that Carlson had gone to dinner with Gaetz and his “friend,” presumably the underage girl in question.
“I’m not the only person on screen right now who has been falsely accused of a terrible sex act. You were accused of something you did not do,” Gaetz told Carlson in another attempt to drag him into it, referring to a 20-year-old accusation against the entertainer.
Most damning of all, perhaps, is the idea that Gaetz is simply caught up in a political campaign to silence dissent. The GOP congressman claims that in today’s climate, it’s natural to find yourself accused of sex trafficking by left-leaning operators looking to kick you from the national spotlight.
The only problem with this claim is that Gaetz’s sex trafficking investigation was opened by Attorney General William Barr during the Trump administration.
Gaetz has been, without question, one of the most ardent Trump cheerleaders. He just happens to have a considerably troubled past, checkered with troubling details. He’s gone off the rails time and time again with accusations against helpless targets like women with welfare cards, and tried and true fringe right talking points like Antifa.
Gaetz has never come through controversy unscathed, and has often deepened his own precarious footing by stepping into conversations only to provide further suspicion. Like the time he announced that he had a teenaged Cuban son named Nestor.
Now, we have a look at the next self-sabotage that Gaetz has waded into. This time, though, the consequences could be very serious for the congressman. Already, Democrats are calling for him to be stripped of his committees, and the Department of Defense investigation that began under Barr and Trump is very much underway.
After a host of faux pas, deliberate malice, and alleged illegal activities, we could be witnessing the end of Matt Gaetz.
Kevin Lankes, MFA, is an editor and author. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Here Comes Everyone, Pigeon Pages, Owl Hollow Press, The Huffington Post, The Riverdale Press, and more.