Possible payments for sex examined in Gaetz probe

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are examining whether Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and a political ally who is facing sex trafficking allegations may have paid underage girls or offered them gifts in exchange for sex, two people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Friday.

The scrutiny of Gaetz stemmed from the Justice Department’s probe into the political ally, Joel Greenberg, the people said. Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector, was indicted last year and is accused of a number of federal crimes. He has pleaded not guilty.

Gaetz, 38, a Republican who was elected to Congress in 2016, is an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump and a fixture in conservative media. Republican congressional leaders have largely been silent about the investigation, which remains ongoing.

Part of the investigation is examining whether Gaetz had sex with a 17yearold and other underage girls and violated federal sex trafficking laws, the people familiar with the probe told the AP. Federal agents suspect Greenberg may have enticed the girls and then introduced some of them to Gaetz, and they are examining whether both men may have had sex with the same girls, the people said.

The people with knowledge of the investigation spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Details of the investigation were first reported by the New York Times.

Gaetz has vehemently denied the allegations and said in a statement earlier this week that “no part of the allegations against me are true.”

The Gaetz investigation, which has been going on since at least the summer of 2020, reached the highest levels of the Justice Department, and former Attorney General William Barr was briefed on the matter several times, the people said.

In the past few months, investigators have also interviewed several witnesses in the case and have been scrutinizing documents, including travel and financial records, the people said.

Greenberg was the elected tax collector in Seminole County near Orlando when he resigned last June after his arrest on federal charges. Initially, those included stalking a political opponent and trafficking a minor for sex. Since then, the case against Greenberg has ballooned to more than 30 charges.