Innocent people don’t seek a pardon before they’ve been charged with a crime...
The New York Times
Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, was one of President Donald J. Trump’s most vocal allies during his term, publicly pledging loyalty and even signing a letter nominating the president for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In the final weeks of Mr. Trump’s term, Mr. Gaetz sought something in return. He privately asked the White House for blanket pre-emptive pardons for himself and unidentified congressional allies for any crimes they may have committed, according to two people told of the discussions.
Around that time, Mr. Gaetz was also publicly calling for broad pardons from Mr. Trump to thwart what he termed the “bloodlust” of their political opponents. But Justice Department investigators had begun questioning Mr. Gaetz’s associates about his conduct, including whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old that violated sex trafficking laws, in an inquiry that grew out of the case of an indicted associate in Florida.
It was unclear whether Mr. Gaetz or the White House knew at the time about the inquiry, or who else he sought pardons for. Mr. Gaetz did not tell White House aides that he was under investigation for potential sex trafficking violations when he made the request. But top White House lawyers and officials viewed the request for a pre-emptive pardon as a nonstarter that would set a bad precedent, the people said.
The administration that was twice impeached and fomented a violent insurrection didn’t want to “set a bad precedent...”
CNN
The Times reported Tuesday that it's unclear what Gaetz knew of the inquiry at the time of his request, and he didn't tell White House aides when he sought the pardons that he was under investigation.
Some Trump associates have theorized in recent days that Gaetz's request for multiple pardons -- not just for himself -- was a move to disguise his own potential legal exposure, the newspaper said.
A spokesperson for Gaetz, however, denied to the Times that his pardon request was related to the Justice Department investigation.
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A person briefed on the probe confirmed to CNN that federal authorities were investigating Gaetz as part of a broader probe into trafficking allegations against another Florida politician, an investigation that began in the closing months of the Trump-era Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr.
“...the saga of the investigation veers into strange territory.”
The Daily Beast
The case against Greenberg led federal agents to probe Gaetz’s conduct, and investigators reportedly believe the two may have had sex with the same 17-year-old. Greenberg is now in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges after he violated the terms of his bail.
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Gaetz has cultivated a reputation as brash and unlikeable during his three terms in Congress, as Republicans previously told The Daily Beast. He sometimes shared photos and videos of nude women to fellow lawmakers on the House floor to brag about sleeping with them. In the Florida state senate, Gaetz reportedly partook in a sexual game where male members of the legislature competed to sleep with aides, other lawmakers, and lobbyists, classifying the conquests with a point system and even dubbing one woman “the snitch” in a reference to the Harry Potter books.
Gaetz has maintained that the investigation into his relationships and travel is part of a plot to extort tens of millions from himself and his father, former Florida state senator Don Gaetz, whose net worth reaches into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The footnote to the saga of the investigation veers into strange territory. A Florida lawyer named Don McGee, a Florida real estate developer previously convicted of fraud named Stephen Alford, and a former Air Force intelligence official named Bob Kent are said to have urged Gaetz to pay them $25 million earlier this year. They claimed they would use it to ransom an American hostage in Iranian custody who has already been declared dead. The elder Gaetz wore a wire to a meeting with one of the men in cooperation with an FBI investigation.