A former Florida tax collector is associated with the Justice Department’s investigation of the Congressman Matt Gaetz is expected to plead guilty, lawyers in the case said in court Thursday. Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger became the first Republican to call Gaetz to resign on Thursday night after new allegations surfaced in The Daily Beast, details of which CBS News has not independently confirmed.
Joel Greenberg is expected to close a deal on May 15, although the deal has not yet been finalized, his attorney, Fritz Scheller, said Thursday.
Greenberg, the former Seminole County tax collector, has been charged with dozens of crimes, including sex trafficking, stalking, bribery and defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program. CBS News has confirmed that the ongoing investigation into Greenberg is the trigger for the investigation into Gaetz.
Greenberg’s trial has been moved to July, although the prosecution said at the beginning of Thursday’s hearing that “we think this case will be a plea.”
According to CBS Orlando subsidiary WKMG, Scheller was asked whether Gaetz’s possible involvement in the investigation gave his client an advantage in plea negotiations. Scheller replied that if Greenberg accepts a plea deal, ‘it will show his sense of remorse – whatever he has – a sense of acceptance of responsibility. Number 2: I think he’s in a unique position. ‘
Scheller also told reporters after the court appearance, “I’m sure Matt Gaetz isn’t very comfortable today.” He later clarified that given the focus on the connection between Gaetz and Greenberg, it “wouldn’t be natural to assume he’d be concerned, you know, some.”
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Gaetz, a close ally of former President Trump, has been accused of dating a 17-year-old and is believed to be under investigation for violations of sex trafficking laws. He has denied all charges and has not been charged with any crimes so far.
One of Gaetz’s aides, Devin Murphy, has resigned in recent days, a source familiar with the situation, confirmed Thursday. The source was told it was due to the Justice Department investigation, but also that Murphy wanted to leave before it went public. Gaetz’s communications director resigned last week.
On Wednesday, CBS News reported that as part of the investigation into whether Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws, federal investigators are investigating a trip to the Bahamas he allegedly took in late 2018 or early 2019.
In a statement to CBS News on Wednesday, Gaetz’s office said he “never paid for sex or had sex with an underage girl. What started with screaming headlines about ‘sex trafficking’ has now turned into a general fishing exercise about holidays. and consensual relationships with adults. Yesterday we even heard of some nonsense ‘pardon’ story that turned out to be false, and today it’s just more euphemism. It’s interesting to see the Washington wheels crunch so hard every time that one of their falsehoods is beaten down. “
CBS News has also confirmed that Gaetz asked the White House for a preemptive general pardon before Mr. Trump left office. The former president said in a statement Thursday, “Congressman Matt Gaetz never asked for my pardon,” although he did not indicate whether the White House had dealt with such a request from Gaetz.
The Florida congressman is expected to make his first public comments since news of the investigation at a Women for America First event on Friday.