As Representative Matt Gaetz disputes allegations that he was involved in a sex slap, the Republican’s latest report on the financial campaign reflects a scuffle that began even before he admitted it was the focus of a federal investigation.
The documentation, which covers the three months between January and March, shows that Gaetz incurred unprecedented fundraising expenses during a quiet quiet period. In that time, Gaetz dropped six figures over a direct email flash, which paid off more for fundraising services than in 2020.
Gaetz also paid a “strategic advisory fee” to the notorious political operator Roger Stone, and he gave money to a number of GOP Florida lawmakers he had never supported before. The report also indicates that Gaetz – who cites his lack of friends in Washington as a point of pride – may be increasingly isolated; he received no contributions from his IDP colleagues.
More than anything, the submission reflects a concerted effort to bolster support ahead of the creeping shadow of the investigation. Gaetz spent about $ 170,000 on direct mail this year, including $ 116,543 in one day – March 31st. The previous day, The New York Times announced the news that the Justice Department is investigating whether the third-term congressman had sex with a 17-year-old and paid for her trip, a possible violation of federal sex trafficking laws.
Gaetz also invested heavily in fundraising and paid Red Rock Strategies in Nevada nearly $ 160,000 for fundraising consulting. That’s about $ 10,000 more than the campaign spent on fundraising services in 2019 and 2020, according to The Daily Beast’s analysis of the documents in the FEC database.
Last week, Politico also reported that Gaetz had recently spent six figures on TV commercials against the allegations. The 30-second spots, which are expected to run in its home district and on select national cable networks, are asking fans to ‘fight back’ against a ‘fake week-fake news cycle’, which is specifically targeted at CNN. The ad purchases came after the quarterly deadline and were not included in the latest report, but should appear in the next submission, which appears in July.
One issue in particular will raise eyebrows: A $ 5,000 strategic strategy “strategic political consultation” to Drake Ventures, the company owned by longtime GOP lubricant and Gaetz collaborator Roger Stone. The DOJ sued Stone and his wife, Nydia, on Friday, claiming the couple paid millions in debt and used Drake Ventures to hide more than $ 1 million.
According to the person familiar with the meeting, Stone’s company paid on March 24, a few days before Gaetz’s father held a personal meeting with a former DOJ prosecutor. In a bizarre March 31 interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, Matt Gaetz claims that his father recorded the conversation led by the FBI, claiming that the former prosecutor was at the center of a complicated plan to blackmail the congressman. The Gaetz campaign had never paid Drake Ventures until then.
The report also indicates that Gaetz has few friends in Washington. While Gaetz slammed donations from corporate PACs, he kept the door open for donations from candidate committees. But so far in 2021, he has not reported any financial support from friends in Congress like Jim Jordan and Stephen Scalise, who both donated to his 2020 campaign. And while making $ 4,000 donations to Sens in mid-February. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) made, Gaetz gave no money to colleagues in the house.
However, on January 26, Gaetz sent $ 1,000 donations to five GOP Florida senators. Gaetz had not donated to any of their campaigns before.
One of the contributions reflects Gaetz’s ties to Joel Greenberg, his longtime friend whose federal allegations of a series of crimes – including sex trafficking – led to the investigation aimed at Gaetz. The contribution went to Jason Brodeur, a longtime Gaetz ally who was also close to Greenberg through local GOP circles. Brodeur’s campaign investigated dirty tricks, including an alleged sham candidate scheme. Brodeur denied involvement and went on to win the race, and now represents Greenberg’s Seminole County at the state level.
Gaetz also continued to collect legal fees, a pattern established last summer around the time the DOJ investigation was allegedly launched. The Daily Beast reported earlier this month that weeks after Greenberg was first charged – in June 2020 – the law firm Venable LLP paid $ 38,000, almost four times the combined amount of legal costs incurred in the previous five years. The new filing reveals a $ 21,000 payment to Venable in February, bringing the total legal costs to $ 85,000 since Greenberg was charged.
Caleb Burns, a partner at Wiley Rein, which specializes in campaign finance legislation, told The Daily Beast that legal costs are often accompanied by a parallel increase in fundraising.
“The law allows candidates and officials to use campaign contributions for legal costs arising from their duties and responsibilities of candidates and officials,” Burns explained. ‘But if an official ends up in a car accident on the way to the grocery store – which has nothing to do with the fact that he or she wants to run office, the campaign could use money to cover legal costs. Therefore, it is not uncommon for candidates and officials to investigate their political activities in order to raise additional funds in their campaigns to reimburse the associated legal costs. ”
Although the focus of the Gaetz investigation is allegedly on sex trafficking, CNN reported earlier this month that federal investigators are also investigating irregularities in campaign funding as part of their broader investigation. Gaetz can legally use his campaign box for these expenses.
The congressman has already raised money from the scandal. On April 7, Talking Points Memo published a fundraising email in which Gaetz slammed ‘The Left Left’ New York TimesFor reporting blissful allegations against me in an attempt to fight my career for the forgotten men and women of this country. The email added that it was ‘unfortunate that the left was trying to drag my dating life into their political attacks’, and contained a donation link asking fans to ‘fight back against the fake news’.
Bell donor Richard Bell, who gave to Congressman late last month, told The Daily Beast that although he has liked Gaetz’s policies since arriving in DC, Gaetz should ‘pay the price’ if the allegations are true. .
“I know there is a huge cost to defending and I feel like I want to help,” Bell said.
Another recent donor, Florida resident Jerry Klinger, told The Daily Beast that he gave to Gaetz because he agrees with the congressman’s “small-government philosophy.” However, Klinger said that “the shadows that have come out since then may have made me wait to reflect again.”
Klinger expressed skepticism about the merits of the DOJ investigation and said he had “no objection” if Gaetz used his donation for legal costs. But he pointed out that the congressman comes from a rich and influential family.
“If Dad wants to pay for junior, it’s a different story,” he said.