Rep. Matt Gaetz’s week is going from bad to worse. On Wednesday night, CBS News reported federal prosecutors were looking into a trip Gaetz took to the Bahamas with Florida ‘ganjapreneur’ and hand surgeon Jason Pirozzolo, and whether women were trafficked across international boundaries for the entertainment of these men.
If that isn’t bad enough, Gaetz’s buddy, former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg, has agreed to a plea deal with federal prosecutors and intends to cooperate with the federal investigation. Greenberg is facing 33 felony charges including sex trafficking of a minor, stalking, wire fraud, bribery, and more.
In March when U.S. Marshals showed up to take him into custody, Greenberg was reportedly threatening to use firearms and explosives, and even threatened suicide. This does not sound like someone eager to spend a decade or more in prison. So, he’s cooperating to lessen his own time behind bars.
Prosecutors don’t offer such a deal unless they are aiming higher. In other words, Rep. Matt Gaetz has gone from hot water to boiling hot water in no time flat. My colleague Mark Sumner did a rundown of the known investigations into and accusations against Gaetz, which include possibly trafficking minors across state lines, illegally using campaign funds to pay for said travel, and traveling to the Bahamas with women (or minors) being trafficked.
In short, Greenberg is accused of using his access to state identification and tax records to identify girls between the ages of 14 and 17 in order “to produce a false identification document and to facilitate his efforts to engage in commercial sex acts.”
As far as the trip to the Bahamas, Jason Pirozzolo, the man at the center of that investigation, spent time with other notable Florida politicians. Thanks to The Intellectualist for locating these photos and videos.
It is rather stunning given the current accusations that Matt Gaetz has not offered to resign and even worse, none of his Republican colleagues are calling for him to resign. It’s one more clear instance of how Republicans operate under different standards (or no standards whatsoever), but apply the strictest of standards to Democrats. Fox News has barely even mentioned the Gaetz scandal. Is there any doubt it would spur 24/7 commentary on the network if it were a Democrat involved in sex trafficking of minors? Matt Gaetz hasn’t been convicted and everyone deserves their day in court, but the appearance of impropriety is so strong that anyone with a moral or ethical backbone would resign so the people living in Florida’s 1st district could have representation in Congress that wasn’t under such a dark cloud of investigation. When you can’t get your colleagues to stand beside you and even Jim Jordan stops answering your calls, it’s time to step aside.
There is no question now that resignation is coming. Who will be the first Republican to call for Matt Gaetz’s resignation? It would serve Gaetz right for Lynn Cheney to pick up that megaphone. After all, he recently went to Wyoming to mount a public smear campaign against Cheney because she voted to impeach Donald Trump after he led an insurrection in January. Standing on the steps of the Wyoming capitol, Gaetz bellowed, "We are in a battle for the soul of the Republican Party, and I intend to win it." I imagine Liz Cheney is somewhere sharpening a knife as I type.
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Of course, there is another layer of intrigue in this case. As Matt Gaetz realizes just how boinked he really is and starts grappling with how much serious prison time he could be facing, will he offer prosecutors something they can’t pass up? After all, there is little doubt Gaetz knows where a few bodies are buried in the swamps of Florida.