Gabrielle Fonrouge. Gaetz, who is being investigated by federal authorities for potential child sex trafficking charges and could reportedly be indicted as soon as next month, launched a Twitter attack on Milley. "I. In the November 8 general election, Gaetz defeated Democratic nominee Steven Specht with 69 percent of the vote. matt gaetz military green beret. [39][40], Gaetz was listed as a member of the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership from at least January to June 2017. [251], Also on March 30, Tucker Carlson interviewed Gaetz on Fox News. Gutierrez, who died Feb. 8 of last year in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province during what appeared to be an insider attack by someone wearing an Afghan uniform, was posthumously awarded the Purple. [61], On February 26, 2019, the night before the scheduled public hearing of Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, before the House Oversight Committee, Gaetz directed a tweet to Cohen that implied without evidence that Cohen had had multiple extramarital affairs and also suggested his wife might be unfaithful while he was imprisoned due to new information disclosed to her. In early March 2020, Gaetz wore a gas mask during a House debate on funds to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. White House aide is the son and is matt gaetz a former green beret of Navy Chiefs Santa County. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks during a news conference to announce the 'Green Real Deal' on April 3, 2019 in Washington, DC. Nevertheless, the NIH denied it had helped create the virus that sparked the COVID-19 pandemic. [128][129], After Ohio congressman Jim Jordan denied that he was aware of the sexual abuse of Ohio State University wrestlers during the period when Jordan was a coach there,[130] Gaetz said that the allegations came from people in the "deep state" and were intended to reduce the credibility of Jordan's criticism of Mueller's investigation of the Trump campaign and Russia. Getty. "[134], In October 2019, Gaetz organized a "storming" of a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility on Capitol Hill by about two dozen Republican congressmen, including House minority whip Steve Scalise, in an effort to sit in on and hear the deposition of a Pentagon official during the impeachment inquiry against Trump. The Florida congressman is a combat-decorated Green Beret . The conversation was reported in April 2022. "[96], Gaetz has introduced legislation to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. [284][285] In January 2022, an ex-girlfriend of Gaetz's testified before a grand jury after being granted immunity;[286] she reportedly had information relevant to two of three criminal charges being considered for Gaetz: sex trafficking a minor and obstruction of justice. In response to stunning New York Times reporting that the Justice Department is investigating a possible sexual relationship between Matt Gaetz and a 17-year-old girl, the Florida Republican. "[214][215], On June 23, 2021, Gaetz tweeted that the FBI should be defunded while it is investigating him for alleged sex trafficking and having sex with a minor. He then said this meant allowing Americans "the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government if that becomes necessary. It's All Part of the Plan", "Local feelings on same-sex marriage ruling mixed", Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, "Roll Call 513 | Bill Number: H. R. 8404", "House passes antitrust bill that hikes M&A fees as larger efforts targeting tech have stalled", "H.R. [181] PolitiFact rated the claim "mostly false", noting that "experts were universal in saying that the evidence that Medicaid expansion is somehow fueling the opioid crisis doesn't exist."[181]. Sources describing Gaetz as "far-right" include: Some sources state that Gaetz is "close to" the caucus, e.g. Greene, a freshman representative from Georgia, has spent her tenure promoting conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, the COVID vaccine and more. [268][269][270], On April 6, 2021, The New York Times reported that in the last weeks of the Trump administration, Gaetz privately requested a blanket presidential pardon for himself and others, which was reportedly denied because it would set a bad precedent. A meme showing a mug shot of U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz suggests that the congressman has had "seven DUIs" and is responsible for the "suspicious" death of his college . Rep. Matt Gaetz . [109], On February 23, 2017, worried about protesters disrupting his appearance at his town hall in Pace, Florida, Gaetz prepared what his staffers called a nonverbal town hall. In response, Twitter hid the tweet and labeled it as "[violating] the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence". JIM BANKS: I am looking forward to this discussion and affording our members the opportunity to ask their questions on DOD's response to COVID-19. [190] but the EcoHealth Alliance later admitted that under the grant it had enhanced a bat coronavirus so it became potentially more infectious to humans, which the NIH said was an "unexpected result" of the research it had funded that was carried out in partnership with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In addition to denying the allegations about his relationship with a 17-year-old girl, Gaetz denied a previously unreported claim that he had been photographed "with child prostitutes", and said that a friend of his (whom Carlson had supposedly met) had been urged by the FBI to claim Gaetz was "involved in some pay-for-play scheme". Greene has been publicly harassing people she opposes for years. "[175] Gaetz supports Florida's stand-your-ground law and supported legislation that strengthened it against legal challenges. I got the freedom variant. Support for impeaching President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas, Federal investigations into sex trafficking. [199][200], On December 19, 2017, Gaetz was the only representative to vote against the Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act, a bill allocating additional government resources to help combat human trafficking. [189], On April 14, Gaetz said the Wuhan Institute of Virology "birthed a monster", a reference to the theory that COVID-19 was leaked out of a Chinese research lab. The sender demanded millions of dollars to help secure the release of U.S. federal agent Robert Levinson (who had disappeared in Iran in 2007 and had already been presumed and declared dead),[250][251] proposing that President Joe Biden would pardon Gaetz as a reward for freeing Levinson. [18] In a crowded Republican primary that included Craig Barker, Kabe Woods, Jerry G. Melvin, and Bill Garvie, Gaetz won with 43 percent of the vote. At the same time, Florida has been one of the states slammed hardest by the novel Coronavirus. [121][122][120] The Times also reported that aides had told Trump of the request. On April 7, Trump denied that Gaetz had asked him for a pardon and noted that Gaetz "totally denied the accusations against him". Gaetz became a regular warm-up speaker for Trump whenever the former president campaigned in Florida during his 2020 re-election bid. [227] Greenberg was indicted in August 2020 on an array of charges, including sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl in 2017 and creating fake IDs to facilitate sex trafficking. [228][230][231] As part of his plea bargain, Greenberg cooperated with the investigation of Gaetz and others. . As a result, Gaetz was placed under self-quarantine for 14 days. "[266], On April 1, 2021, CNN reported that Gaetz had shown pictures of naked women to colleagues on the House floor. [201][202][203] Gaetz later explained that his vote was due to his small government principles and his belief that existing federal agencies could adequately combat human trafficking. They reached a boiling point and these guys marched in and said we want to know what's going on. Gaetz, who is being investigated by federal authorities for potential child sex trafficking charges and could reportedly be indicted as soon as next month, launched a Twitter attack on Milley. [126][127] Gaetz said he did not trust Mueller to lead the investigation because of Mueller's alleged involvement in approval of the Uranium One deal and alleged close relationship with dismissed FBI director James Comey, a probable person of interest in a proposed new investigation. [151] He acknowledged that the bill's pass-through tax deduction would benefit Trump, but added, "so many Americans benefit when commercial real estate becomes easier and more accessible. Watch: Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz Get Heckled off the Stage While Defending Capitol Rioters. [34], In 2013, Gaetz announced that, in 2016, he would run for the 1st district State Senate seat held by his father, Don Gaetz, who was term-limited in 2016. [25][156], In November 2017, Gaetz joined the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus. [48][49], After the 2020 State of the Union Address, Gaetz filed an ethics complaint against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, claiming she had committed a "flagrant violation of decorum" and perhaps broken the law by ripping up her copy of the speech. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican of Florida. Miller is a former Green Beret. Police recorded him driving 48mph (77km/h) in a 35mph (56km/h) zone and noted that he showed physical signs of intoxication. [3] In 2016, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was reelected in 2018, 2020, and 2022. The 'Green Real Deal' is a resolution intended to serve as a response . On Thursday, though, a strong case was made for crowning Rep. Matt Gaetz the king of congressional morons, thanks to his decision to be as blatant as possible about allegedly paying women for. On August 30, 2016, Gaetz won the Republican primary with 35.7 percent of the vote to Greg Evers's 21.5 percent and Cris Dosev's 20.6 percent, along with five other candidates. Certain members of the Freedom Caucus, including Gaetz, could contribute the required margin. . [99][100] Gaetz has criticized the federal government for having "lied to the American people for a generation" about cannabis's medical benefits. He said each state should have the right to decide for itself whether to allow same-sex marriage. [7][8] He graduated from Florida State University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary sciences, and from the William & Mary Law School in 2007 with a Juris Doctor. He also resigned from two Florida House political action committees he had started and chaired; the PACs closed down and transferred $380,000 to a federal super PAC, North Florida Neighbors, whose purpose was to support Gaetz's congressional campaign. He later clarified that Galbn is the brother of an ex-girlfriend of Gaetz's and that Galbn spends time with his sister, with Gaetz's family, and with Gaetz. [19] During his campaign, Gaetz received almost $480,000 in contributions, about five times more than anyone else in the field, and almost 50 times more than Fernald, including $100,000 of his own money. [148] He expressed the belief that many Republicans in Congress were hesitant to impeach Biden, but that Republican voters would feel "betrayed" if they did not. Gaetz called the label a "badge of honor", accused Twitter of enabling Antifa, and again said that "[o]ur government should hunt [Antifa] down". Gaetz's grandfather, Jerry Gaetz, was the mayor of Rugby, North Dakota, and a candidate for lieutenant governor of North Dakota at the 1964 North Dakota Republican Party state convention, where he died of a heart attack. And it matters to our military and the . On Tuesday night, The New York Times alleged that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is "under investigation over possible sex trafficking" of a minor. Despite Republican Claims, No", "Text H.R.1865 116th Congress (20192020): Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020", "Roll Call 689 Roll Call 689, Bill Number: H. R. 1865, 116th Congress, 1st Session", "H.R. McGee reportedly met with Don Gaetz before Alford did,[259][261] but apparently did not discuss a presidential pardon, which Alford later admitted to the FBI that he had lied about his ability to arrange. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at Wednesday's hearing. [271] On April 8, it was revealed that Trump had reportedly wanted to defend Gaetz but was told to stand down due to the seriousness of the allegations. But he and the other members were actually attending the Conservative Political Action Conference, which was held at the same time as their absences. She allegedly . [186][187][188] A few days later, on March 9, Gaetz's office reported that he had been in contact with a Conservative Political Action Conference attendee who tested positive for COVID-19. "[295] In 2016, he called Galbn a "local student"; in 2017, he called Galbn "my helper". Gaetz made two speeches for the organization while in Congress, and Pirozzolo gave two separate donations of $1,000 to Gaetz's campaign arm "Friends of Matt Gaetz", in March 2016 and May 2017. He also said his father agreed to wear a "wire" to help the FBI record the alleged extortionists. A member of the Republican Party, he is widely regarded as a staunch proponent of far-right politics as well as an ally of former president Donald Trump.[1][2]. [289] Later in January 2022, Joseph Ellicott confessed that in 2017, he witnessed Greenberg telling Gaetz over the phone that the woman they had both had sex with was underage. [239] A woman on the Bahamas tripa Capitol Hill intern who did not work in Gaetz's office but who was dating Gaetzreportedly agreed in May 2021 to cooperate with investigators, who believe she has information about Gaetz's financial transactions on the trip. [243], Gaetz had argued in a November 2020 Fox News appearance that Trump "should pardon Michael Flynn [and] everyone from himself to his administration officials to Joe Exotic". Investigators were reportedly exploring whether the escorts were sexually trafficked for Gaetz and whether Gaetz accepted paid escorts in exchange for political access or legislative favors for Pirozzolo, who at the time chaired the board of the Medical Marijuana Physicians Association. [78] House rules explicitly disallow below-market rentals, and require that parties to such leases "have [not] had, [n]or continue to have, a professional or legal relationship (except as a landlord and tenant)". [57], In February 2023, Gaetz invited Corey Ryan Beekman to lead the pledge of allegiance at a Judiciary Committee hearing. [23] He also joined state senator Greg Evers in proposing legislation to eliminate the federal ethanol content mandate that 10 percent of gasoline sold in Florida contain ethanol;[24][25] Governor Rick Scott signed the legislation in May 2013. [15] In October 2021, the Florida bar suspended Gaetz from practicing law due to unpaid fees. The district includes portions of Walton County and all of Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties. Read the transcript of their response and testimony here. The scandal engulfing Matt Gaetz, one of Donald Trump's brashest supporters in Congress, deepened on Friday after an associate admitted sex trafficking involving a minor and agreed to cooperate. Right-wing Republicans like Representatives Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are making the case that the post-Trump version of their party will double down on the former president's most . After Gaetz was arrested, he refused to take a breathalyzer test. Jan 18, 2022, 10:04 AM. Pence's former chief of staff hits back at Matt Gaetz, saying he'll likely be 'in prison for child sex trafficking' in what looks like a growing schism in Trumpworld. . 5. In several commercials during his 2016 congressional campaign, Gaetz promised to "kill Muslim terrorists and build the wall". Joel Valdez, a senior communications aide to Gaetz, posted a video on Parler hours before the storming of the Capitol with the caption "From the top of the Capitol office buildings, WE HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR! 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