Matt Gaetz portrays himself as a victim in defiant speech after the House Ethics Committee investigated.

Rep. Matt Gaetz is trying to turn an ongoing sex trafficking investigation into a rally. The Republican in Florida has said he was “built for a fight” in his first major public appearance since the revelation that the Department of Justice is investigating whether he violated sex trafficking laws and whether he had sex with a 17-year-old . Gaetz spoke Friday at an event held by the group Women for America First at former President Donald Trump’s club Trump National Doral Miami and described the investigations as an ideological attack. He took a page right out of the Trump playbook and characterized himself as someone who had the consequences of being a truth-teller in the swamp.

“They’re lying to me because I’m telling the truth about it, and I’m not going to stop,” Gaetz said, painting the investigation as an attack on his supporters. ‘So if you see the leaks and the lies and the lies and the smears, if you see the anonymous sources and insiders predicting my death, know this: it does not really come to me. They come for you. I’m just in the way. Gaetz, who sounds a lot like Trump, said he was being investigated because they wanted him to be silenced. “I know this: firearms do not retreat, especially when the struggle for the soul of our country is calling,” he said. “Great government, great technology, great business, great media – they will all breathe a sigh of relief when I no longer fight for you in Congress.”

In the end, Gaetz did ‘exactly what defense lawyers and establishment types in politics and media say a policeman should not do’, says Politico. He disagreed with the shackles and attacked everyone when he used the investigation to pick up supporters and raise money to pay his legal costs. But he speaks at a time when the walls seem to be closing. Now it seems clear that Gaetz’s friend, Joel Greenberg, who is charged with sex trafficking with a minor, is ready to negotiate a plea deal with prosecutors and quite possibly cooperate as a witness against the legislature in Florida. Gaetz reportedly told people involved in Florida politics that he had met women through Greenberg.

Gaetz sounded a defiant tone shortly after the House Ethics Committee began an investigation into the legislature’s behavior on Friday. The committee said it was aware of allegations that Gaetz may have had ‘sexual misconduct and / or illegal drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the house floor, misused state identification, converted and / or accepted campaign funds for personal use. bribes, improper gratuity or inadmissible gift, in violation of house rules, laws or other standards of conduct. ”