- Among other things, Gaetz is more pressing than ever amid the news that his collaborator Joel Greenberg is close to a plea agreement.
- Greenberg’s potential collaboration means someone Gaetz may have conspired with “working closely with the government,” a former FBI agent said.
- Greenberg can shed light on Gaetz’s intention, which is crucial in drawing up a case against him.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has been in hot water since The New York Times revealed the existence of an investigation into the Department of Justice into whether he had sex with a minor and traded federal laws on sex trafficking.
The pressure on Gaetz shot up another notch on Thursday after attorneys Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector charged as part of the investigation, told a judge that Greenberg was close to a plea deal.
This is a seismic development that is causing problems for Gaetz, whose friendship with Greenberg dated at least 2017. Both men grew up in affluent Florida circles and shared similar interests, and Greenberg even told BuzzFeed News in 2018 that he considered Gaetz a mentor.
It is unclear what the terms of his plea agreement will be; an agreement has not yet been formalized, and the terms may range from an accused pleading guilty but refusing to disclose information about other targets, to pleading guilty and agreeing to co-operation, which will give them extra leniency when sentencing approach.
Either way, law enforcement veterans said it puts Gaetz in a very unenviable position.
“It does not bode well for his friend and alleged partner in crime to have just entered into a plea deal,” said Jeffrey Cramer, a longtime former prosecutor who spent 12 years at the Department of Justice.
“What Gaetz would be concerned about is if there is a co-operation agreement in this matter that the defendant drops on him,” said Sherine Ebadi, a former FBI agent who served as chief agent in the case against the former Trump trustee. campaign chairman Paul, said. Manafort. “It gets scary for fellow conspirators because they know that someone who is aware of their crimes, or that someone working with them is working closely with the government.”
Others reflected the assessment.
“Simply put: as a prosecutor, you do not turn Greenberg around unless he gives you Gaetz,” wrote Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor from the southern district of New York.
The Florida legislature is not charged with any crimes, and he has vehemently denied the allegations against him, claiming the department’s investigation is part of an extensive blackmail scheme aimed at his family. A Gaetz spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Greenberg’s lawyer makes unusual statement
Greenberg’s lawyer, Fritz Scheller, apparently hinted at a co-operation agreement on Thursday and told reporters after a court hearing: ‘I’m sure Matt Gaetz does not feel very comfortable today.’
However, it is unusual for prosecutors or lawyers to disclose the existence of a plea agreement because they want to avoid dismissing other targets.
“This is definitely an interesting statement,” Ebadi said of Scheller’s comments. “It makes you wonder what the motive was for saying that.”
She added that she had handled cases in which employees ‘tried to work both sides’ because ‘they know they have leverage against someone, and they want to try to mediate some kind of transaction not to work together.’
‘I do not know if [Scheller’s] looking ahead, I do not know what the motive would be because collaborators generally do not want people to know that they are cooperating, “Ebadi said. But perhaps the money is gone because there has been so much public talk about this matter, that there will be a plea agreement in this case. ‘
When prosecutors deal with collaborating witnesses, they also take into account the credibility of the person, because “now you are dealing with someone who has already admitted that you have a crime, and you are motivated to tell them what you are doing. want to hear, because it benefits them by possibly reducing their punishment, ‘Ebadi said.
To examine the information they obtain, investigators examine documents, financial records and electronic documents to confirm the evidence of a cooperating witness.
Former Justice Department officials said that this case in particular may not be difficult to crack.
Gaetz and Greenberg left the investigators with a large pile of breadcrumbs
Gaetz is suspected of having a sexual relationship with a woman who was 17 years old in 2019. Investigators are also investigating whether he paid her to travel across state borders, and violated sex trafficking laws. The investigation is investigating whether the Florida legislature used campaign money to fund travel for women, and The Times reported that investigators are investigating Gaetz and Greenberg’s interaction with ‘multiple women recruited online for sex and receiving cash payments’.
CBS News reported that prosecutors also undertook a trip that Gaetz undertook to the Bahamas in late 2018 or early 2019, along with a hand surgeon and marijuana entrepreneur who allegedly paid the bill for female escorts, hotel rooms and travel expenses. On Thursday, The Daily Beast reported that Gaetz sent $ 900 via Venmo via Venmo in 2018 and that Greenberg subsequently sent $ 900 in various amounts to three young women.
In other words, the two men probably left the prosecutors with a large pile of breadcrumbs.
“The problem for the congressman is that everything that goes with traveling with others always leaves a trail of documents and reports,” said Jeffrey Cramer, a former federal prosecutor who spent 12 years at the Department of Justice. “If he traveled with a minor girl while he was in a sexual relationship with her, there are records that prove it.”
The woman with whom Gaetz is suspected of having a sexual relationship with her would now be 19 years old and may also be willing to talk to investigators, he added.
What Greenberg Prosecutors Could Tell
Then there is other information prosecutors need to argue a strong case, details they may not be able to get from records and documents. This is where Greenberg comes in.
In the first place, he could have participated in conversations in which only he and Gaetz were present, or private communication that took place on encrypted programs, in text messages that could be removed, or on a surfing telephone.
“There may be a number of things they have done that the government may not have access to, or do not even know about,” Ebadi said.
But the biggest thing he could talk about, she added, was Gaetz’s intention when he was apparently engaged in the behavior now being investigated.
“Depending on what prosecutors charge, an element in different cases is often the intent, or evidence of someone’s knowledge or willfulness while committing a crime,” Ebadi said. With Greenberg, ‘can you have someone who was present then [Gaetz] made statements such as: ‘I’m going to do this’, or’ I’m doing this for these specific reasons. These are crucial words in a case like this, especially when it comes to the element of intent. ‘