A former Florida tax collector linked to the Congressional Department of Justice investigation Matt Gaetz he is expected to plead guilty, lawyers for the case told the court on Thursday. Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois became the first Republican to demand Gaetz’s resignation Thursday night after new allegations surfaced in The Daily Beast, details of which CBS News has not independently confirmed.
Joel Greenberg is expected to reach an agreement on May 15, although the deal has not yet been finalized, his lawyer, Fritz Scheller, said Thursday.
Greenberg, the former Seminole County tax collector, has been charged with dozens of crimes, including sex trafficking, harassment, bribery and fraud in the Wage Protection Program. CBS News has confirmed that the ongoing investigation into Greenberg is what drove the investigation into Gaetz.
Greenberg’s trial has moved to July, although the prosecutor said at the start of Thursday’s hearing that “we believe this case will be a petition.”
According to WKMG, a subsidiary of CBS Orlando, Scheller was asked if Gaetz’s possible involvement in the investigation gave his client an advantage in the negotiations. Scheller responded that if Greenberg accepts a reason agreement, “it will show his sense of remorse (which he does have), a sense of acceptance of responsibility. Number 2, I think, is uniquely situated.”
Scheller also told reporters after the court appearance, “I’m sure Matt Gaetz doesn’t feel very comfortable today.” He later clarified that, given the focus that focused on the connection between Gaetz and Greenberg, “it would not be obvious to assume that he would care, it is known, about some.”
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Gaetz, a close ally of former President Trump, has been accused of having a relationship with a 17-year-old man and is believed to be being investigated for violations of sex trafficking laws. He has denied all allegations and so far has not been charged with any crime.
One of Gaetz’s aides, Devin Murphy, has resigned in recent days, a source familiar with the situation confirmed on Thursday. The source was told that the Justice Department investigation was being told, but also that Murphy wanted to leave before it was made public. Director of Communications at Gaetz resigned last week.
Wednesday, CBS News reported that, as part of the investigation into whether Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws, federal investigators are studying a trip to the Bahamas that he allegedly made in late 2018 or early 2019.
In a statement to CBS News on Wednesday, Gaetz’s office said he “has never paid for sex, nor had sex with a minor girl. What began with the headlines about” sex trafficking “It has become a general fishing exercise on holidays and consensual relationships with adults. Yesterday, we even found out about some story of” forgiveness “for nonsense that turned out to be false, and today is more euphemism. “It ‘s interesting to see how Washington’ s wheels grind so hard every time one of his falsehoods is hit.
CBS News has also confirmed this Gaetz asked the White House for a preemptive blanket pardon before Trump left office. The former president said in a statement Thursday that “Congressman Matt Gaetz never apologized to me,” although he did not address whether the White House had submitted this request to Gaetz.
The Florida congressman is expected to make his first public statements since the news of the investigation Friday at a Women for America First event.