- Joel Greenberg tried to end his relationship with Mr. Using Matt Gaetz to forgive Trump, reports Politico.
- Greenberg is facing a string of federal charges for crimes, including sex trafficking in minors.
- Gaetz is also under federal investigation for sex trafficking and the payment of women for sex.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Florida politician Joel Greenberg has tried to pressure prominent GOP representative Matt Gaetz to obtain a pardon from President Donald Trump, reports Politico.
Greenberg and Gaetz, close allies in Florida and strong supporters of Trump, are now being investigated by the Department of Justice for the potential sex trafficking of minors.
Two sources told Politico that Greenberg had spoken several times about Gaetz using his relationship with Trump to ask for forgiveness. Gaetz declined to confirm or deny whether Greenberg apologized, but denied that he passed on the requests to Trump.
Read more: Biden is expected to nominate a former Obama-era federal prosecutor to head the Department of Justice’s criminal division.
Politico also reported that a panicked Greenberg in the days before he was charged with sex trafficking in August 2020, a panicked Greenberg to a co-worker over the encrypted messaging app WhatsApp ventured that prosecutors his Venmo transactions with the woman, who he called ‘vintage’. 99. “
Politico said the moniker, a reference to the year of the woman’s birth, is her nickname on the dating site SeekingArrangement, where mainly young women are looking for relationships with ‘sugar daddies’. The woman, who did not name Politico because of her status as a possible crime victim, did not return the request’s comments.
‘I have to pay for vintage 99 to keep [a] lawyer, “Greenberg wrote to the person, describing Politico as a powerful Republican in the state.” They [federal agents] contacted her and wanted her to talk. She does not want to talk to them. ‘
The person on the other end of the conversation did not want to be drawn into Greenberg’s growing problems with the law and told Politico that the whole exchange ‘felt like a setup’.
“I have nothing to do with this and think it’s incredibly uncomfortable that you’re trying to condemn me for being a part of it, Joel,” he said in the messages Politico received, denying that he even had a Venmo account. had. or to know the woman concerned. ‘Not. F-king. Cool. ‘
Greenberg, the former Republican tax collector in Seminole County, is currently facing a total of 33 federal charges, including sex trafficking with minors, combating a rival candidate for the tax collector, theft of aggravating identity, making false IDs, wire fraud, illegal money transfers involving Bitcoin, and conspiracy to bribe an official with the Small Business Administration to obtain fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans.
The charge of sex trafficking carries a mandatory sentence of ten years to life imprisonment.
The Justice Department is also investigating Gaetz for illegal sex trafficking with minors or for paying women for sex, an investigation that began under the Trump administration and apparently deviated from the wide-ranging investigation into Greenberg. Gaetz, who has not yet been charged with a crime, denied being involved in illegal activities.
In December 2020 and January 2021, Trump forgave or overturned the sentences of a number of his political allies, including Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos, his son-in-law’s father Charles Kushner and former representatives. Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter, two of his earliest supporters, along with Hunter’s wife.
Greenberg and his lawyers are expected to conclude a plea deal with prosecutors next month. Former DOJ officials recently told Sonam Sheth to Insider that the scale and severity of the charges against Greenberg increase the incentive for him to cooperate against potential accomplices in his alleged crimes, which increases the potential legal danger for Gaetz.
“This is the same playbook he used against the teacher he falsely smeared as a pedophile,” the Republican on the other end of the WhatsApp conversation told Politico, referring to the pursuit charge. “And he will do the same to Gaetz if he can get less jail time.”