In yet another unpromising turn for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), ABC News reported Thursday that his former wingman Joel Greenberg has been providing extensive information to federal authorities as he cooperates with the sprawling investigation of the Florida lawmaker.
Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector, has handed over “years of Venmo and Cash App transactions and thousands of photos and videos,” as well as access to personal social media accounts, ABC reported, citing multiple anonymous sources.
These materials could potentially implicate Gaetz, who is at the center of an investigation of allegations of child sex trafficking, bribery and obstruction of justice. Gaetz has denied the allegations and insisted he never paid for sex.
Gaetz was allegedly among a group of men in a suspected cash-for-sex network led by Greenberg, who pleaded guilty in May to multiple federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a minor. Greenberg, who had been friends with Gaetz for at least several years, reportedly agreed to cooperate with prosecutors earlier this year as part of the ongoing investigations.
Private message exchanges from September 2018 that were viewed by ABC News reportedly show Greenberg texting a woman he met online. In the Google Voice text exchange, he reportedly discussed payment options and asked her if she took recreational drugs, then arranged a meeting with himself, Gaetz, the woman and a friend of hers.
A spokesperson for Gaetz, Harlan Hill, told ABC News that “not one woman has come forward to accuse Rep. Gaetz of wrongdoing.”
“That others might invite people unbeknownst to a U.S. Congressman to functions he may or may not attend is the everyday life of a political figure. Your story references people the congressman doesn’t know, things he hasn’t done and messages he neither sent nor received,” Hill said.
Read the report at ABC News.