WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Ethics Committee has announced that the investigation into Florida Representative Matt Gaetz as federal prosecutors alleging sex trafficking is also investigating the actions of some of its political allies and fellow Republicans in Florida as part of a broader public corruption investigation.
Federal agents have been investigating Gaetz’s involvement with several other influential political figures in Florida in recent months.
These include Senator Jason Brodeur in Florida; Halsey Beshears, the state’s former top regulator; Chris Dorworth, a lobbyist who served in the State House; and Jason Pirozzolo, a hand surgeon and a donor of the Gaetz campaign who sat on the board of the Orlando Airport Authority, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
Brodeur and Beshears did not respond to repeated calls Friday for comment. An attorney for Pirozzolo also did not respond to a request for comment. Dorworth did not comment.
The FBI’s investigation into a wide range of topics involving Gaetz and his associates illustrates the breadth of the investigation.
Gaetz, who strongly denied himself, detained two prominent lawyers in New York while facing an investigation by the Department of Justice into allegations of sex trafficking in underage girls.
The investigation includes an investigation into a trip that Gaetz and Pirozzolo took with a group of women to the Bahamas, and federal agents investigating whether they were paid or received gifts to have sex with men, the person said . CBS News first reported the details of the trip.
The FBI also began questioning people about the trip and others that Gaetz and his associates had undertaken with women, and agents were investigating whether one of the women was later appointed to government positions in the government, the person said.
Investigators examined financial records, contact witnesses, former staff members and other people who they said were aware of the activities, according to the person.
The person could not discuss the details of the ongoing investigation in public and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Gaetz was not charged with a crime and sent a call for fundraisers portraying him as a victim of a ‘smear campaign’. During a sensational appearance Friday night at former President Donald Trump’s Doral Golf Club in Miami, he promised, “I have not started fighting yet.”
“I was built for the fight and I’m not going anywhere,” Gaetz said. “The smears against me range from distortions in my personal life to wild – and I mean wild – conspiracy theories.”
But a potentially ominous sign appeared in a Florida court on Thursday when it came to light that a Gaetz associate, Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector, was working on a plea deal. Such a move could potentially open the door to Greenberg’s collaboration against Gaetz.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Gaetz and Greenberg paid underage girls or offered gifts in exchange for sex, according to two people familiar with the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they could not discuss details in public. Greenberg on Friday filed an innocent plea by his attorney on a variety of charges, ranging from sex trafficking in children to fraud. A judge set a May 15 deadline for Greenberg to reach a plea agreement.
The House Panel’s two-party inquiry is one of the first official indications that Gaetz’s party leaders are prepared to investigate his actions. According to committee chairman, representative Ted Deutsch, D-Fla., And the ranking of the Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana, it also appears to be more extensive than reaching out to reports of sexual misconduct. The ethical inquiry ensures that Gaetz will have to confront simultaneous investigations simultaneously with a federal criminal investigation, even if he holds on to his innocence and plans to stay in Congress.
The Ethics Committee performs its work in secret and usually issues a final report on what it finds, often many months later. The punishment for violating ethics depends on the House and may include misdemeanors, fines and even suspension from Congress.
Separately Friday, a Gaetz spokeswoman said attorneys Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirshner will lead his legal team.
“Matt has always been a fighter. A fighter for his constituents, a fighter for the country and a fighter for the Constitution. He will fight back against the unfounded allegations against him, “the statement read, adding that the lawyers” will fight the battle against those who try to smear his name with falsehoods. ”
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Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed to this report.