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Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican firebrand known for his strong support of former US president Donald Trump, said Wednesday that the US Department of Justice has completed the sex trafficking case without charges against him.
Conservatives who represent much of the Florida Panhandle issued a statement through their congressional office that the long-running investigation was over.
Gaetz has insisted throughout that he is innocent of wrongdoing.
“The Department of Justice has confirmed to Congressman Gaetz’s attorney that the investigation is complete and that he will not be charged with any crime,” the statement said.
The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The development was first reported by CNN.
Trump defender
While a relatively junior member of Congress, Gaetz has gained national attention through his frequent cable news appearances in recent years in which he offers an unvarnished defense of Trump.
The decision not to charge Gaetz removed the shadow that threatened his political career. Some Republicans were quick to support him, and some treated him like a pariah.
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Gaetz and political ally Joel Greenberg paid the girls and bodyguards or gave them gifts in exchange for sex, according to two people familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity during the ongoing investigation.
Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as tax collector in Florida’s Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that he paid women and minor girls to have sex with him and other men. They were not identified in court documents when they pleaded guilty.
Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in federal prison for various crimes.
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