Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz is desperately trying to change the subject from his almost certain upcoming federal indictment on child sexual abuse and sex trafficking charges for "dating" an underage girl, and the Sword of Damocles dangling above his head just lost a few hairs holding it up.
The former Florida tax official whose criminal case led to a sex trafficking investigation of Rep. Matt Gaetz has agreed to plead guilty to six of the charges against him and to cooperate with federal investigators, court filings show.
In a copy of the plea agreement submitted in federal court in Orlando on Friday, Joel Greenberg said he will plead guilty to charges of identity theft, stalking, wire fraud, conspiracy to bribe a public official and sex trafficking of a minor — a fraction of the 33 charges that prosecutors had already slapped him with.
The filing also said he agrees “to cooperate fully with the United States in the investigation and prosecution of other persons, and to testify, subject to prosecution for perjury or making a false statement, fully and truthfully before any federal court proceeding or federal grand jury in connection with the charges in this case.”
If he cooperates fully, the government will seek a reduced sentence. A judge will hold a hearing on the proposed deal on Monday.
It's uncertain what the agreement means for the investigation into Gaetz, who has not been charged with any crime and who's repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Federal investigators are looking into whether Gaetz and Greenberg used the internet to search for women they could pay for sex. They are also investigating whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a minor and paid for her to travel with him, The New York Times reported.
According to the court filing, Greenberg spent over $70,000 in 150 transactions between 2016 and 2018 to pay women for sex.
One of those women was under 18 “for part of the time” Greenberg paid her for sex acts “with him and others.”
The clock is almost up for Gaetz. If Greenberg turns states' evidence on him and tosses him under the bus, and then levitates the bus 40 feet into the air just to drop it on him a few more times like I suspect is going to happen over the next several weeks, then this is going to get ugly fast. Gaetz doesn't have Daddy Trump or Bill Barr to protect him anymore, either. If he's indicted, he will be jettisoned by the rest of the GOP as soon as they can safely memory hole their relationships with him.
And Gaetz may be far from the only GOP lawmaker that this case ensnares. Just sayin'.
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