WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Ethics Committee announced an investigation into Florida Representative Matt Gaetz as federal prosecutors investigating allegations of sex trafficking against him also study the actions of some of their allies politicians and their Florida Republicans as part of a broader public corruption investigation. .
Federal agents have, in recent months, been examining Gaetz’s connections to several other influential Florida figures.
They include Florida State Senator Jason Brodeur; Halsey Beshears, former state business regulator; Chris Dorworth, a lobbyist who had campaigned in the state House of Representatives; and Jason Pirozzolo, a manual surgeon and donor to the Gaetz campaign, who served on the board of the Orlando Airport Authority, told The Associated Press a person familiar with the matter.
Brodeur and Beshears did not answer Friday’s repeated calls seeking comment. A Pirozzolo lawyer also did not respond to a request for comment. Dorworth made no comment.
The FBI’s examination of a wide range of topics related to Gaetz and his associates exemplifies the breadth of the investigation.
Gaetz, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, has detained two prominent New York lawyers while facing an investigation by the Justice Department over allegations of sex trafficking related to underage girls.
The scrutiny includes an examination of a trip Gaetz and Pirozzolo made to the Bahamas with a group of women, and federal agents are studying whether they were paid or given gifts to have sex with men, the person said. . CBS News first reported details of the trip.
The FBI has also begun questioning people about this trip and others that Gaetz and his associates made with women, and agents are examining whether any of the women were later hired to hold government positions as political favors. , said the person.
According to the person, investigators have been examining financial records, contacting witnesses, former staff members and others who believe they may have knowledge of the activities.
The person was unable to publicly discuss the details of the ongoing investigation and spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Gaetz has not been charged with a crime and has sent fundraising resources portraying him as a victim of a “defamation campaign.” During a prominent appearance Friday night at former President Donald Trump’s Doral Golf Club in Miami, he vowed, “I haven’t started fighting yet.”
“I’m built for battle and I’m not going anywhere,” Gaetz said. “The stains against me range from distortions in my personal life to wild conspiracy theories, and I mean wild.”
But a potentially disastrous signal came Thursday in a Florida court when it was revealed that a Gaetz associate, Joel Greenberg, a former county tax collector, is working to reach a lawsuit. This move could open the door to Greenberg’s cooperation against Gaetz.
Prosecutors are examining whether Gaetz and Greenberg paid underage girls or offered them gifts in exchange for sex, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they could not discuss details publicly. Greenberg on Friday filed a guilty plea through his attorney for various charges ranging from child sex trafficking to fraud. A judge has set a deadline of May 15 for Greenberg to reach a lawsuit.
The bipartisan investigation of the House group is one of the first official indications that Gaetz’s party leaders are willing to examine their actions. It also seems broad, reaching beyond reports of sexual misconduct in broader allegations of public corruption, according to committee chairman Ted Deutsch, Florida, and Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana. Developing alongside a federal criminal investigation, ethical investigation ensures that Gaetz will have to face simultaneous investigations, even as he maintains his innocence and plans to remain in Congress.
The Ethics Committee conducts its work in secret and usually issues a final report on what it finds, often many months later. Punishment for violations of ethics is up to the House and may include censorship, fines and even expulsion from Congress.
Separately Friday, a Gaetz spokesman said attorneys Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirshner will lead their legal team.
“Matt has always been a fighter. A fighter for his constituents, a fighter for the country and a fighter for the Constitution. He will fight the unfounded accusations against him, “the statement said, adding that the lawyers” will take the fight to those who try to tarnish his name with falsehoods. “
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Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Brendan Farrington, in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed to this report.