Rep. Matt Gaetz
An outside group called Florida Patriots PAC is spending over $880,000 to tie far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz to former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg, a onetime Gaetz friend who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor in 2021. The offensive comes ahead of Gaetz's August 20 primary battle against Navy veteran Aaron Dimmock.
"Gaetz allegedly grooms Greenberg for higher political office and makes payments to him," a voice-over narrates. "Greenberg reportedly uses a 'sugar daddy' app to find college girls and pays for sex on Congressman Gaetz's behalf."
Greenberg, who was often described as Gaetz's "wingman," was at the center of a federal investigation over alleged sex trafficking of a minor and other accusations. However, while Greenberg agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of his own plea deal in 2021, the probe into Gaetz ended two years later without any charges.
The House Ethics Committee, though, announced last month that it had reopened its own investigation into Gaetz in 2023, after pausing it at the request of federal prosecutors. The committee said one of the things it was still looking into was whether Gaetz had engaged in "sexual misconduct." ABC News' Will Steakin recently reported that Greenberg is cooperating with the ongoing probe.
Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and is trying to fend off Dimmock to win renomination in Florida's 1st District, a dark red seat located in the Pensacola area. One person rooting hard for the challenger is former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who is reportedly trying to unseat Gaetz as part of a "revenge tour" against the eight Republicans who voted to oust him as leader of the House last fall.
Florida Patriots PAC, whose donors are not yet known, is also airing ads touting Dimmock's service flying missions over New York City following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The advertising blitz comes shortly after Gaetz began attacking Dimmock on TV as a "raging liberal" who supports Black Lives Matter and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.
