The former girlfriend of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has agreed to cooperate with investigators probing an alleged sex trafficking operation, CNN reported Friday.
The unidentified woman, a former Capitol Hill staffer, has known Gaetz since the summer of 2017, a period of time of particular interest to investigators, sources told CNN. Investigators consider her a “critical witness” who may be able to determine the relevance of records of hundreds of transactions they have obtained, including some allegedly involving payments for sex, the sources said.
News of yet another individual cooperating with investigators comes just days after Gaetz’s longtime pal Joel Greenberg reached a plea deal on sex trafficking charges with the Justice Department in exchange for his cooperation in the investigation.
Greenberg, a former Florida county tax collector, had faced 33 charges. As part of the arrangement with the Justice Department, filed May 14, Greenberg has pleaded guilty to six federal charges, including sex trafficking of a child, producing false identification, wire fraud and stalking. Greenberg has also agreed to testify that he introduced an adolescent “to other men, who engaged in commercial sex acts with the Minor in the Middle District of Florida,” according to the plea arrangement.
Gaetz’s connection to Greenberg and various reports indicate that one of those “other men” could be the Florida lawmaker.
Gaetz could not immediately be reached for comment. He was tweeting Friday night about a political rally in Arizona. He has denied any wrongdoing.
