WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Ethics Committee announced an investigation into Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, as federal prosecutors investigating sex trafficking allegations against him are also investigating the actions of some of his political allies and fellow Florida Republicans as part of a wider public corruption investigation.
Federal agents have been investigating Gaetz’s connections to several other influential Florida political figures in recent months.
They include Florida State Senator Jason Brodeur; Halsey Beshears, the former top state corporate regulator; Chris Dorworth, a lobbyist who had served in the state house of deputies; and Jason Pirozzolo, a hand surgeon and donor to the Gaetz campaign who served 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 phone calls asking for comment on Friday. A lawyer for Pirozzolo also did not respond to a request for comment. Dorworth did not comment.
The FBI’s investigation of a wide variety of topics involving Gaetz and his associates illustrates the scope of the investigation.
Gaetz, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, has detained two prominent New York attorneys while facing a Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls.
The audit includes an investigation of a trip that Gaetz and Pirozzolo took with a group of women to the Bahamas, and federal agents are investigating whether they were paid or given gifts to have sex with the men, the person said. CBS News reported details of the trip for the first time.
The FBI has also started questioning people about that trip and others that Gaetz and his associates took with women, and agents are investigating whether any of the women were later hired as political favors in government positions, the person said.
Investigators have examined financial records, are contacting witnesses, former staff members and others they believe were aware of the activities, the person said.
The person was unable to publicly discuss the details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Gaetz has not been charged with a crime and has sent out fundraising calls portraying him as a victim of a ‘smear campaign’. During a high-profile performance Friday night at former President Donald Trump’s Doral Golf Club in Miami, he vowed, “I haven’t started fighting yet.”
“I’m built for battle and I’m not going anywhere,” said Gaetz. “The slander against me ranges from distortions of my personal life to wild – and I mean wild – conspiracy theories.”
But a potentially ominous sign occurred in a Florida court Thursday when it was revealed that a Gaetz employee, Joel Greenberg, a former county tax collector, is working on a plea deal. Such a move could potentially open the door for Greenberg’s collaboration against Gaetz.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Gaetz and Greenberg paid underage girls or offered them gifts in exchange for sex, according to two people familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because they could not publicly discuss details. Greenberg filed a not-guilty plea on Friday through his attorney on a variety of charges ranging from child sex trafficking to fraud. A judge has set a deadline of May 15 for Greenberg to reach a plea deal.
The House Panel’s two-pronged investigation is one of the first official indications that Gaetz’s party leaders are ready to scrutinize his actions. According to the chairman of the committee, Rep. Ted Deutsch, D-Fla., And the rank of Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana, it also appears to have tremendous scope, beyond the reports of sexual misconduct into wider allegations of public corruption. In addition to a federal criminal investigation, the ethics probe ensures that Gaetz will face contemporaneous investigations, even if he maintains his innocence and plans to remain in Congress.
The ethics committee carries out its work in secret and usually issues a final report many months later on what it finds. Punishment for ethics violations is in the House and can include censure, fines, and even expulsion from Congress.
Separately Friday, a Gaetz spokesman said lawyers 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 baseless allegations against him, “the statement said, adding that the lawyers” will fight those who try to taint his name with lies. “
Associated Press authors Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed to this report.