Congressmen Matt Gaetz Under Investigation for Relationship with 17-year Old Girl, NYT Reports

Republican Florida congressman Matt Gaetz is having a busy news day. Earlier today it was reported that he was thinking of leaving Congress to become a commentator on the conservative news network Newsmax. But that news will likely be overshadowed by a blockbuster report from the New York Times that writes Gaetz "is being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him, according to three people briefed on the matter."

Investigators are determining whether Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, which, if prosecuted, can lead to severe sentences. Details are not available as to how Gaetz met the girl, who was 17 at the time of the relationship two years ago, according to the Times' sources.

The investigation was begun in the closing days of the Trump administration, the report continues. "Given Mr. Gaetz's national profile, senior Justice Department officials in Washington – including some appointed by Mr. Trump – were notified of the investigation, the people said."

The probe is part of a larger investigation into Gaetz's political ally, "a local official in Florida named Joel Greenberg, who was indicted last summer on an array of charges, including sex trafficking of a child and financially supporting people in exchange for sex, at least one of whom was an underage girl." Greenburg was a tax collector for Seminole County, north of Orlando, but has since resigned.

"No charges have been brought against Mr. Gaetz, and the extent of his criminal exposure is unclear," adds the Times.

"Mr. Gaetz said in an interview that his lawyers had been in touch with the Justice Department and that they were told he was the subject, not the target, of an investigation. 'I only know that it has to do with women,' Mr. Gaetz said. 'I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.'"

Gaetz has been one of Donald Trump's staunchest defenders and is prone to stunts such as wearing a gas mask on the House floor during the early day of the pandemic.

He has also got much media attention of late for his relationship with his "adopted" son Nestor. Last summer EMN reported he revealed he was parenting Nestor, then 18. He had been living with Gaetz for six years, after coming from Cuba to live with his sister, Gaetz's then girlfriend. After the couple broke up, Nestor continued to live with Gaetz, which he described as "a modern family," to People Magazine last June.

While Gaetz describes Nestor as his "son," there is no legal documentation that he has legally adopted him. "Since Gaetz has declined to provide further details, there are still a lot of gaps here. We don't know how Nestor came to the US, and how he was allowed to do so without being adopted. There is also a significant disparity in the way Nestor is addressed. On Gaetz's personal accounts, Nestor is called a son, but on Gaetz's Congressional office account he is described as a 'remarkable young man' and 'part of my family story,'" writes the website Meaww.com in a deep-dig about the relationship.

Gaetz proposed to his girlfriend, Ginger Luckey, at Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 30.