Feds looking at alleged payments Rep. Matt Gaetz made to women and online solicitation: Sources

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The federal investigation targeting Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz is specifically looking into whether he and an associate in his home state of Florida provided cash or others things of value to women they had sex with after connecting online, The New York Times first reported Thursday evening and a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.

Gaetz's associate, former local politician Joel Greenberg, was indicted last year for allegedly trafficking a teenage girl for sex in 2017, and the Justice Department is also trying to determine whether Gaetz had sex with the 17-year-old, according to sources. Greenberg pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The  สล็อตออนไลน์ details of the investigation were first reported by The New York Times, two days after the paper revealed that an investigation was underway. The disclosure has sent shockwaves through Republican circles, particularly among close associates of former President Donald Trump, who considered Gaetz a staunch ally and loyal friend.

According to the Times, investigators believe Greenberg met women through certain websites and introduced some of them to Gaetz. As recently as 2019 and 2020, Gaetz and Greenberg told women to meet them at hotels in Florida, laying out how much they were willing to pay beforehand, the newspaper said, adding that party drugs may have also been used by Gaetz and others at times. .

"Matt Gaetz has never paid for sex," Gaetz's office said in a statement to The New York Times. Matt Gaetz refutes all the disgusting allegations completely. Matt Gaetz has never ever been on any such websites whatsoever. Matt Gaetz cherishes the relationships in his past and looks forward to marrying the love of his life. "

Sources told ABC News the investigation targeting Gaetz was launched last year, when Trump was still president. Then-Attorney General Bill Barr was briefed on the investigation's progress several times, the sources said.