More nothing burger from wrong story.

Wonder when they'll release Epsteins little black book and his tapes?

 

‘I Love This’: Matt Gaetz Praises CNN Article Detailing How He’s Made Congress ‘So Miserable’ Many Top Republicans Are Leaving
Alex GriffingFeb 19th, 2024, 11:30 am
270 comments



Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

Controversial Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) delighted Monday in a new report from CNN in which former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) argued that the disfunction that members like Gaetz has brought to the House is why so many top Republicans are retiring this year.

“I love this @cnn article,” Gaetz wrote on X, adding:

The fundamental premise is that I’ve made congress so miserable for so many members that they are leaving.

Wonderful!

We can’t save America with the current Republican team. We have to get tougher and smarter. We need newer, bolder voices in the House.

If you want to be a Paul Ryan / Kevin McCarthy Republican – THEY DON’T WORK HERE ANYMORE!

The “institutional knowledge” i’m accused of wiping out is often knowledge your lawmakers acquire to enrich themselves, trade stocks and sell out We the People.

“The next phase of our plan is to REPLACE the droves of retiring members with America First Patriots,” added Gaetz, who is a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump.


Twenty-three House Republicans have either retired already this Congress or announced they will not seek reelection, including five committee leaders. “The caliber and timing of some of the retirements has raised alarm bells, particularly those who are giving up coveted committee gavels that some work their whole career to achieve,” noted the CNN article Gaetz enjoyed so much, which added:

Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington is not even term-limited yet in her plum post, while China select committee Chair Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, a 39-year-old who was once seen as the future of the party, recently announced he was leaving Congress after facing intense blowback for voting against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

And on the Energy and Commerce Committee alone – a highly sought-after assignment – there are eight Republicans who are retiring.

“Those are big losses for us. It is alarming. Especially for the institutional knowledge … So, that’s a big deal,” outgoing Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN) told CNN.

Gaetz, who the House Ethics Committee is investigating for allegedly having sex with a minor, led the charge to oust McCarthy last year, resulting in a weeks-long battle that ground the House to a halt.


McCarthy spoke to CNN about all the retirements, saying, “It’s unfortunate because you think of the brain trust you are losing. I blame a lot of the ‘crazy eights’ led by Gaetz. They want to make this place dysfunctional to try to wear people out. It’s very sad … It makes it more difficult for getting people to run in the current climate.”

Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), the head of the Freedom Caucus and one of the eight who voted to oust McCarthy, added, “Brain drain? Why don’t you survey the country and see if there is any brain to drain in Congress. Congress has a 20% approval rating. Most of what we do to the country is bad. I think the retirements are a wonderful thing … I have no concerns, zero concerns. We probably need a few more retirements.”

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/i...o-miserable-many-top-republicans-are-leaving/

 

More nothing burger.
Spam like, even.

 

'Typical child of rich parents': Former GOP staffer lays into Matt Gaetz

Sky Palma
February 19, 2024 4:28PM ET



Rep. Matt Gaetz. (Facebook photo)




Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has created a persona for himself as one of his party's most divisive figures. According to columnist
Dexter Filkins, Gaetz has come to embody "the new Republican creed of doing whatever it took, and laying waste to whatever it took, to ensure that Donald Trump would survive and succeed."

Filkins writes that Gaetz has helped make Congress even more dysfunctional than it already was. But the more he "tears down," the more his supporters love him. Speaking to Filkins, a friend of Gaetz's and a former Congress staffer who the writer didn't name, said that the congressman doesn't like doing the work of a lawmaker.

“Being a member of Congress is hard. You’re flying from your district to Washington and back all the time, you’re studying policy, you’re raising money. Matt is too lazy for that," the friend said, expressing a sentiment that leaves many wondering what Gaetz actually aims to accomplish.

Also read: 'Infuriating': Ex-Trump official throws tantrum on Fox News at snub of former boss

“Matt is very smart, even brilliant, and he can be very nice,” a former elected official who knows Gaetz told Filkins. “But when I see someone that intelligent aggravating the toxic divisions in this country, spreading mistrust in the institutions that are our foundations, it makes me wonder — where does it end?”

Mac Stipanovich, a former chief of staff for Republican governor Bob Martinez, told Filkins that Gaetz is "a typical child of rich parents."

“He’s intelligent, entitled, irresponsible. He is accustomed to being the center of attention, and insists on being the center of attention," Stipanovich said.

Gaetz's relative unpopularity in Congress is seen by his supporters as simply a symptom of his principled approach to politics.

“Most of the members of Congress come here to be popular, and they ignore their base back home," his friend Rep. Eli Crane told Filkins. "They don’t do what they were elected to do. Matt is very unpopular here, but it makes him popular back home. And he’s popular because he actually listens to his base.”

Read more at The New Yorker.



https://www.rawstory.com/matt-gaetz-2667316657/

 

'Mommy and daddy issues': Speaker seeks Trump backing to send clear message to Gaetz

Maya Boddie, Alternet
February 25, 2024 10:04AM ET



Former President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (Image via Mike Johnson/X)




U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-FL) successful campaign to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) late last year resulted in much resentment towards the Florida lawmaker from fellow Republican House members.

Gaetz's vision for the future of the party looks vastly different from his colleagues' — including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

According to a Sunday CNN report, "multiple GOP sources" say the speaker recently petitioned former President Donald "Trump to back Republican Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) against his MAGA-aligned primary foe, Darren Bailey, in the southern Illinois district — a sign of how the new speaker is leveraging his relationship with the former president as internal GOP primary battles threaten to reshape the makeup of Congress."

CNN reported, "As Republicans made the pitch on why they believed Bost — a loyal Trump supporter, committee chairman and five-term incumbent — deserved the backing of the former president, some hoped another message would effectively be delivered to Gaetz: That the House GOP would not be remade in his mold, a sign of the lingering bad blood more than four months after the Florida Republican led the unprecedented charge to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership."

READ MORE: 'Insecure' Mike Johnson faces a chaotic GOP 'majority at war with itself'

The news outlet also noted, "The party-wide push to protect Bost — which GOP sources say also included a Johnson-hosted fundraiser for Bost in his district in December — is not fueled by concerns over losing the ruby-red seat if a far-right candidate emerges victorious in the Republican primary.

“Instead, the calculation is more centered around the fact that Bost, a member of the center-right Main Street Caucus, is viewed as a leadership ally who tends to support the party’s agenda, according to lawmakers familiar with internal GOP dynamics — a far cry from the Gaetz wing of the party that is frequently at war with party leaders over tactics."

US Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) told CNN, "Seeing as how President Trump endorsed Mike Bost, Matt always finds himself on the wrong side of history. He wants more chaos. He has mommy and daddy issues to work out."

The Illinois GOP leader called the infighting "really sad," telling CNN, "I came into politics under the old Reagan rule — the 11th Commandment of no badmouthing Republicans. But there’s a whole pile of them now."

CNN reported, "Gaetz insisted that his campaign against Bost — the third time he has targeted a sitting Republican while serving in Congress — 'isn’t personal,' pointing instead to Bost’s past support for aiding Ukraine and calling him a member who is 'bought and paid for by the lobbyists and the special interests.'"

READ MORE: 'Democrats in drag': Matt Gaetz unleashes on GOP-controlled committee investigating him

The Sunshine State leader said, "I don’t fight those things out with my fists in some sort of strange brawl. I fight with my words, and that’s what I will be doing in Illinois."

https://www.rawstory.com/mommy-and-...o-send-message-to-ga-gop-rep-gaetz-wants-out/

 

“Look me in the eye”: Hunter Biden turns the tables on Matt Gaetz over question about drug use
Igor Derysh
Fri, March 1, 2024 at 8:42 AM MST·1 min read
1.9k



Hunter Biden Samuel Corum/Getty Images

• 
  

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee on Thursday released the full transcript of Hunter Biden’s closed-door testimony that included eyebrow-raising exchanges between Biden and members of the committee.

The partially redacted 229-page document “underscores the disconnect” between Republicans’ criminal allegations against Hunter and President leaving the page." data-wf-tooltip-position="bottom" data-wf-reset-every="90">Joe Biden and the actual evidence they have, NBC News reported.

During the questioning, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., asked Hunter Biden if he was “on drugs” while serving as a board member of the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, drawing an objection from Biden’s attorney.


“Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye. You really think that’s appropriate to ask me?” Biden asked Gaetz, according to the transcript.

“Absolutely,” Gaetz replied.

“Of all the people sitting around this table, do you think that’s appropriate to ask me?” Biden asked.

Gaetz has been accused of using drugs at parties by multiple people, including by a Republican senator, which he has denied.

“Yeah. Are you going to answer it?” Gaetz pressed Biden during the hearing.

“I will answer it this way: I have been absolutely transparent about my drug use,” Biden replied. “Again, I spoke to you all earlier this morning about that. I’m sorry; I’m an addict. I was an addict. I have been in recovery for over four and a half years now, Mr. Gaetz. I work really, really hard at it. Let me answer. I work really hard at it, under an enormous amount of pressure. Was I an addict? Yes, I was an addict. What does that have to do with whether or not you’re going to go forward with an impeachment of my father other than to simply try to embarrass me?”


https://www.yahoo.com/news/look-eye-hunter-biden-turns-154251115.html

 

Hunter apparently didn't see the willis testimony.
If he had he'd know being defiant and trying to score media quotes doesn't turn out well.
Ever.

 

Matt Gaetz fears ‘raucous’ Republicans will make Joe Biden look ‘like a lion tamer’

Matthew Chapman
March 7, 2024 6:37PM ET



US Republican Representative Matt Gaetz (R-Fl) Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images




President Joe Biden's could use the State of the Union Address to rebuke Republicans who have obstructed his agenda, and that makes Rep. Matt Gaetz scared, the Florida Republican admitted Thursday.

Gaetz appeared on Steve Bannon's show "War Room" before the national address to share his concerns that Biden might goad Republicans into heckling — and make himself look good in the process.

"Joe Biden is going to try to bait House Republicans into some sort of raucous exchange, right?" said Gaetz. "Remember that the State of the Union gives the president tremendous home-field advantage...you are the center of attention. The stagecraft is all about the president. They have a lot of flexibility regarding the duration of this experience, the pomp and circumstance. So he's going to blame us for the border."

Gaetz told Bannon he fears how his fellow Republicans will respond.

"My concern is that some of my colleagues are going to raucously exchange that baiting," said Gaetz. "And what that will do is make Joe Biden look vigorous where he otherwise wouldn't, okay?"

Gaetz argued Biden was not in a position to detail policy agenda because of larger concerns Americans have about the economy

"Millions of people are gonna watch this thing, and they're gonna say, is Joe Biden up to it?" Gaetz argued. "If we give him kind of a situation where he gets to look like a lion tamer, standing above a raucous crowd, then we're playing into his hand."

Gaetz then detailed the good behavior he said he'd promised his mom.

"I will be sitting quietly like a Southern gentleman," Gaetz said. "And I promised my mother I would not be texting too often."

https://www.rawstory.com/joe-biden-sotu/

 

'Reckless spending crusader' Matt Gaetz led House in reimbursed office expenses: analysis

Kathleen Culliton
March 11, 2024 10:34PM ET



US Republican Representative Matt Gaetz (R-Fl) Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images




The MAGA firebrand who presents himself as a crusader against the federal government's "reckless spending" leads his peers in the House of Representatives when it comes to office expenses, according to a new analysis.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was reimbursed for nearly $43,800 in office expenses in 2023, according to a Legistorm report filed Tuesday.

Keturah Hetrick notes that new reimbursement rules allowed Gaetz to receive more than $40,000 for expenses that include lodging, rides and meals.

Gaetz reportedly received $31,000 for housing and $10,800 for meals and $1,900 for car rentals, parking and taxis in 2023, reports Hetrick.

New rules allowed Gaetz to seek these reimbursements for money spent in Washington D.C. while Congress was in session.

"Reimbursement is paid out of an office's Members' Representational Allowance, the annual budgets that go to paying for staff compensation and other costs of running congressional offices," the report notes.

According to the report, that amounts to 99 percent of Gaetz's office allowance. The average is 86 percent. In 2022, Gaetz reported using 90 percent.

In October — the same month he moved to remove then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over promised budget cuts —Gaetz published an opinion piece in Florida's Sun Sentinel called "I'm fighting against reckless spending in D.C."

"In Joe Biden’s America, families are having to pinch pennies, so Congress should too," wrote Gaetz. "Americans literally cannot afford Washington’s reckless spending."


https://www.rawstory.com/matt-gaetz-spending/

 

Its always fun to check for the rest of the story when one finds the american hater and one of his copy N paste jobs with wrong story.
Case in point.

Now, a careful read of this bit of propaganda garbage seems to suggest that the Hon. Gaetz somehow gets special privilege with his office expenses, and of course being a deplorable, takes full advantage.

Nope.
Not even close.

A quick google search takes us to;
Statement of Disbursements | house.gov
where we discover that the government has thoughtfully provided us with a list of expenditures for the entire Congressional representative entourage. We assume a similar one exists for the senate, but that's beyond the scope of this particular expose.

So we download the searchable and filterable Excel spreadsheet and check first for Hon. Gaetz.
Yep. There he is. We assume that wrong story got the numbers accurate, we didn't bother to double check.
Then, we pull up some notable despicable rascals, like, you know, Pelosi.
$105,293.10
That's right. Hell, Nancy's rent alone was more than poor Matt's entire expenditures for the year. For everything.

And the Hon. Schiff? $47,793.

So much for accurate, unbiased reporting from the american hater.

 

Note the false propaganda. The story I posted does not say or even insinuate that Gaetz is receiving special treatment. The story highlights what a hypocrite Gaetz is for on one hand railing against "reckless government spending" while he uses a new rule to milk the taxpayers for all he can get. Which happens to be more than any other member of the House.



And now on another front it looks like this could get very messy. One of Gaetz friends sues a young woman Gaetz is accused of sex trafficking when she was 17 for defamation. So in her defense she subpoenas Gaetz. And he will be under oath.


Matt Gaetz subpoenaed by woman he's been accused of having sex with as a minor: report

Kathleen Culliton
March 14, 2024 2:41PM ET



US Republican Representative Matt Gaetz (R-Fl) Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images




Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been served a subpoena stemming from a civil lawsuit over accusations that he had sex with an underage girl, sources told ABC News Thursday.

The subpoena demands Gaetz sit for a deposition to discuss allegations stemming from a years-long Justice Department investigation into allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl, who is now in her 20s, according to the report.

Lobbyist Chris Dorworth, a friend of Gaetz's, filed the defamation and racketeering lawsuit against the young woman, but the subpoena comes from her attorneys, the report notes.

Gaetz has publicly denied the allegations, telling Fox News in 2021, "I have not had a relationship with a 17-year-old, that is totally false."

The Florida Republican's deposition is slated for April 5, sources told ABC News. Gaetz could be questioned under oath about the accusations that he had sex with the young woman, according to the report.

One of her attorneys, John Clune, confirmed to ABC News that Gaetz had been served.

ALSO READ: House Republican giggles over Hitler praise — and admits he never listens to Trump

The Justice Department quietly ended its investigation into Gaetz in early 2023, but the House Ethics Committee launched a probe into the allegations raised in January.

In February, Fritz Scheller, a lawyer for Gaetz’s former friend Joel Greenberg, told the New York Times he provided the committee documents linked to Greenberg's claims that he witnessed the sexual encounter.

Greenberg cooperated with the Justice Department probe and was sentenced to 11 years in prison for charges that include underage sex trafficking.

Before the scandals broke, Gaetz said he considered Greenberg a friend.



https://www.rawstory.com/matt-gaetz-minor/

 

Wait.
Pelosi spent more than gaetz.

 

This kind of stuff has been going on all day in the treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republican's phony impeachment hearing and its been just hilarious. The treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republican only have a Biden hating Russian witness and another one testifying from prison. And they still can't cite an actual crime. While the Democrats brought in Lev Parnas. And Ol' Lev Boy has been just spectacular. First because he testified to the fact all this is just a continuation of the Russian misinformation campaign that led to Trump's first impeachment. But also because Parnas is a scrapper in his own right and does not get bluffed by anyone. They could not have found a better foil for the lies and false accusations.



'Is that a threat?' Witnesses go at each other during Matt Gaetz's questions

M.L. Nestel
March 20, 2024 7:25PM ET



Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) (Photo: Gage Skidmore)




During Wednesday's impeachment hearing, Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-FL) was momentarily forced to play referee.

It was his turn to ask questions in the House Oversight and Judiciary Committee's impeachment hearing on Capitol Hill as part of Republicans' ongoing investigation of President Joe Biden and his family.

But he was interrupted by a volley of trash talk between the Republican witness and former Hunter Biden business associate Tony Bobulinski and convicted onetime Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas.

ALSO READ: Trump is exploiting, abusing, playing, bending and breaking the legal system.

"So, I guess Mr. Bobulinski, as you hear, Maxwell Frost, my colleague on the Democrat side say that Mr. Parnas fresh off of his prison time is the most credible witness we've had to address these business dealings what's your reaction to that?

Bobulinski responded, "I think it's laughable that the Democrats are asking Lev Parnas to weigh in on my credibility," he said.

He then cut into Parnas as a convicted felon while he has "an impeccable record."

Parnas did serve time in federal prison after being found guilty in 2021 on campaign finance and false statements offenses. (he pleaded guilty to participating in a wire fraud conspiracy).

Bobulinski suggested that Parnas appeared to threaten him.

"Now, he warned me earlier in this hearing that 'they're coming for me' --"

Parnas cut in, "Keep lying, you'll be there soon."

Then Bobulinski asked: "Well, is that a threat Mr. Parnas?"

"No, it's just the truth... I said 'If you keep lying you will end up in prison."

Bobolinski then shot back. "I'm not lying, you're the one who was lying. You're the one who went to prison."

"What am I lying," asked Parnas.

Bobulinski sarcastically retorted: "The list is long we don't have enough time."

And Parnas appeared to vent at Rep. Gates.

"I think you're a little scared like Mr. Gates, I think you're a little scared just like Mr. Gates because Mr. Gates doesn't even ask a question," said Parnas. "I've been here for six hours and not one of your committee members had asked me one question. You want to hear the truth?"

"I asked a question about your illegal business dealings," Gaetz scolded Parnas before ignoring him. "Mr. Bobulinski fraud is a crime, right?"

He answered: "Correct. Fraud is a crime."

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer publicly invited Bobulinski and also another Hunter associate Jason Galanis to appear alongside Hunter Biden and as well as another witness, Devon Archer."

Both Hunter Biden and Archer didn't appear.

Watch the interaction below or click the link here.






https://www.rawstory.com/lev-parnas-matt-gaetz-hearing-threat/

 

'You can't handle the truth!' Matt Gaetz smacked down in heated impeachment hearing clash

David Edwards
March 20, 2024 4:24PM ET



House Oversight/screen grab




Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) clashed with a Democratic witness at an impeachment proceeding Wednesday.

During a House Oversight Committee hearing, Gaetz tried to take on Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani, about crimes that required him to spend four months in prison.

"So it sounds like everyone here today, the only one working for a Russian oligarch was you," Gaetz said in an attempt to counter earlier claims that Russia was behind corruption allegations against President Joe Biden.

"You were really worried about our democracy, and you were here to warn us, but you were working for a Russian oligarch, wanted to get marijuana licenses, but then you didn't even do it," the lawmaker added sarcastically.

"No," Parnas replied. "That's a lie, Congressman Gaetz."

ALSO READ: Tax the rich and end Republican welfare for the wealthy

"But instead of spending 50 years in prison, you got four months," Gaetz complained. "The DOJ didn't listen to the truth because if they would listen to the truth, you guys would have been all in jail."

"You don't want to hear the truth," Parnas shot back. "You can't handle the truth, Matt Gaetz."

"Look, the truth for you is taking money from Russians to buy marijuana businesses and then going to jail and then coming here to lie about Trump," Gaetz griped.

Watch the video below from House Oversight.





https://www.rawstory.com/you-can-t-...z-smacked-down-at-heated-impeachment-hearing/

 

Kevin McCarthy accuses Matt Gaetz of doing 'something illegally' to stifle ethics probe

David Edwards
March 24, 2024 11:58AM ET



CBS/screen grab




Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) accused Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) of breaking U.S. laws in an effort to quash a House ethics investigation.

During an interview on Face the Nation Sunday, McCarthy praised Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) after she filed a motion to have Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) removed.

"Look, the one thing I've always found, when you sit down with a member and talk to them, find out what their concerns are, especially when it's based upon policy, you can solve that problem," he said. "And I watched that with Marjorie, from the vote to Speaker to the vote for the Fiscal Responsibility Act. There's times she [had] a difference of opinion, and you sit down and find common ground."

McCarthy then turned to Gaetz, who orchestrated the bid to oust him.

"Matt's case was much different," McCarthy said. "It was about a personal thing that he had done, and that's what he was trying to get something illegally stopped."

ALSO READ: Scientific proof Republicans are killing women

"This is not the case here," he added. "So I would not be afraid of a motion to vacate. This is about policy."

CBS host Margaret Brennan asked McCarthy if he had "evidence to back up your allegation" about Gaetz.

"Well, I think the Ethics Committee, it was purely Matt coming to me, trying me to do something illegal to stop the Ethics Committee from moving forward an investigation that was started long before I became Speaker," McCarthy recalled.

"Something illegal?" Brennan pressed.

"I don't know what the facts are there," McCarthy said of Gaetz's ethics case. "It's a personal issue of what he'd done as a member of Congress."

"I simply would say the Ethics Committee has the right to look at whatever they're going forward, and I'm not going to get in the middle of it one way or another."

Watch the video below from CBS or at the link..




https://www.rawstory.com/matt-gaetz-kevin-mccarthy-2667590306/

 

Kevin Mccarthy blames ouster on Matt Gaetz's sexual misconduct allegations probe

Matthew Chapman
April 9, 2024 10:06PM ET




Kevin McCarthy (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)




Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is pulling no punches about the real reason he believes he was ousted from power, according to new reports.

The former Republican leader appeared Tuesday night at a Georgetown University event on the strength of American democracy and predictably found himself discussing his ejection from the House speakership in 2023, according to reporter Ben Jacobs and Politico.

"McCarthy says the only reason that he is not Speaker," Jacobs reported, "is because 'one person wanted me to stop an ethics complaint" linked to accusations he'd had sex with a 17-year-old girl.

According to Politico, McCarthy added a caveat: "Did he do it? I don't know."

While Jacobs does not specify to whom McCarthy was referring, one House Republican led the charge to remove the former speaker and has found himself embroiled in an investigation as to whether he had sex with a minor of that age: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL.)

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Congress raids presidential campaign fund in surprise reversal

When McCarthy was ejected from the speakership by a motion to vacate the chair, after eight Republicans, Gaetz (R-FL), joined with all Democrats to remove him, resulting in weeks of chaos that finally culminated with the selection of Mike Johnson (R-LA) to replace him. Gaetz has publicly said it was because McCarthy broke deals he made with the far-right House Freedom Caucus.

McCarthy was likely referring to an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz.

According to Politico, Gaetz publicly maintains he did nothing wrong and argues the Ethics Committee probe is payback for leading the effort to oust McCarthy.

The FBI separately investigated the sex trafficking claim, and while one of Gaetz's associates, former Florida county tax official Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking, Gaetz himself was never prosecuted.

The congressman has always adamantly denied he was involved in sexual offenses of any sort. However, he has privately admitted to associates that he did indeed move to oust McCarthy as revenge for not making the investigation go away.

McCarthy has previously stated he also believes that Gaetz is breaking the law in order to try to quash the probe.

Earlier this year, reports indicated that the investigation is moving ahead, with Greenberg's attorney providing documents to the Ethics Committee purporting to back up Greenberg's claim he witnessed Gaetz having sex with the girl.



https://www.rawstory.com/mccarthy-gaetz-2667734067/

 

Slow news day.
Retreading what's already been in the news.
No matter. The propaganda flingers have bills to pay just like the rest of us.

 

'Are you afraid of me?' 'Firebrand' Matt Gaetz mocked for running away from reporter

Kathleen Culliton
April 11, 2024 2:48PM ET




US Republican Representative Matt Gaetz (R-Fl) Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images




Rep. Matt Gaetz's "firebrand" reputation is being questioned by a self-described "good-natured midwesterner" journalist who greeted the Florida Republican with a "Congressman, hi!" then watched him run away.

Atlantic staff writer Elaine Godfrey Thursday shared her strange chase after Gaetz in a lengthy profile that spends much of its time detailing the firebrand's frantic flight from a reporter with questions.

"Usually, you need about 10 minutes to walk from the Rayburn House Office Building to the House Chamber," Godfrey writes. "But if you’re running from a reporter, it’ll only take you five."

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Congress raids presidential campaign fund in surprise reversal

Gaetz reportedly caught sight of Godfrey outside his office door last November and responded by speed-walking away. Godfrey tried smiling and waving and then found herself wishing she'd worn shoes with arch support, she wrote.

“I just wanted to introduce myself!” she cried.

Instead of sneakers, Godfrey had brought with her a list of questions in hopes Gaetz might be willing to have a quick chat in lieu of the sit-down interview she'd repeatedly tried to schedule with his staff.

Godfrey said she hoped to have a meaningful conversation, but was ready for a heated one, because he is, as his eponymous podcast and memoir declare him to be a firebrand.

"But there the firebrand was, that day in November," Godfrey writes, "running away from me in his white-soled Cole Haans."

The Atlantic staff reporter then took off after the Florida Republican whose meteoric rise to House prominence she had hoped to discuss.

"Gaetz is a creature of our time: versed in the art of performance politics and eager to blow up anything to get a little something," Godrey wrote in explanation of her interest in the Florida Republican. "He has emerged as the heir of Trumpism."

There was just one problem with Godfrey's interview plans: Gaetz was willing to run.

"Gaetz broke into a light jog down the escalator, then flew through the long tunnel linking the Rayburn offices to the House Chamber," Godfrey writes. "Finally, I caught up with him at the members-only elevator, my heart pounding. I stretched out my hand. He left it hanging. We got on the elevator together, but he still wouldn’t look at me."

As detailed in Godfrey's profile, the encounter saw the Atlantic reporter able to ask one incredulous question, to which Gaetz responded with a silent glare and brisk walk toward the house.

“Are you … afraid of me?” she asked.



https://www.rawstory.com/firebrand-matt-gaetz/

 

'Matt sent this to me and you’re missing out': Gaetz allegedly showed colleagues nude pics

Carl Gibson, AlterNet
April 12, 2024 4:30PM ET




Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) (Photo: Gage Skidmore)




Even though the U.S. Department of Justice declined to pursue criminal charges against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) last year, the House Ethics Committee is still investigating him. And a new profile suggests that investigation may soon intensify.

The Atlantic's Elaine Godfrey reported that, according to several of her sources, the Florida Republican sent explicit photos and videos of women to some of his colleagues in Congress. One video was allegedly of a young woman hula hooping while naked.

"Matt sent this to me, and you’re missing out," one unnamed Gaetz aide said, telling Godfrey that he watched the video from the back of a van along with another member of Congress.

READ MORE: House Ethics investigators obtain texts Matt Gaetz allegedly sent to woman his colleague paid for sex

According to Godfrey, Gaetz has a longtime habit of "bragging about his sexual conquests" that supposedly includes showing nude photos of women to his friends.

One of Gaetz's longtime friends, Erin Scot, recalled a time when she met up with Gaetz at a wedding in 2009 — prior to him launching his political career — and wanted to show him a photo of her girlfriend (Scot came out as lesbian to Gaetz when they were young, and she noted that she felt comfortable with him when he appeared unfazed at the news).

"[Scot] says that later, at the bar, Gaetz passed around an image of his own: a cellphone photo of a recent hookup, staring up topless from his bed," Godfrey wrote.

The far-right congressman allegedly took his public boasting about his hookups to a higher level after being elected to the Florida legislature in 2010.

Godfrey wrote that Gaetz and several Republican lawmakers are reported to have devised a "points" system in which participants scored one point for sleeping with a lobbyist, three points for hooking up with a lawmaker and six points for a married legislator.

The Washington Post reported in 2021 that Gaetz voted against a Florida bill to criminalize "revenge porn," which involves the sharing of explicit photos without the consent of the subject.

"Gaetz and his friends all played the game, at least three people confirmed to me, although none could tell me exactly where Gaetz stood on the scoreboard. (Gaetz has denied creating, having knowledge of, or participating in the game.)," Godfrey reported.

READ MORE: GOP-led committee revives investigation into Matt Gaetz's alleged sex trafficking and corruption

A source Godfrey described as a "former Republican lawmaker" corroborated other claims about Gaetz's propensity to share unsolicited details about his sex life. That source said Gaetz, "Used to walk around the cloakroom showing people porno of him and his latest girlfriend.

"He’d show me a video, and I’d say, 'That’s great, Matt.’ Like, what kind of a reaction do you want?" The source said.

And while Gaetz was once a close adviser to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, reportedly being the reason former President Donald Trump endorsed DeSantis' candidacy for his first term in 2018, he has since fallen out of favor with the Sunshine State's governor.

Political consultant Peter Schorch told Godfrey that Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis "hated all the sex stories that came out" about Gaetz and that the congressman was to be considered "persona non grata."

The House Ethics Committee's probe into Gaetz is ongoing, and will ultimately produce a report that could recommend an official censure motion or even expulsion, as it did with former Rep. George Santos (R-NY).

Gaetz denies all of the allegations the committee is investigating.

READ MORE: House Republicans 'have their fangs out' to expel 'hated' Matt Gaetz after George Santos ouster

Click here to read Godfrey's full profile in the Atlantic (subscription required).


https://www.rawstory.com/matt-sent-...t-gaetz-allegedly-showed-nude-pics-to-collea/