Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) accused a former Department of Justice prosecutor of using a concocted underage sex investigation to blackmail him and his family to the tune of $25 million.
Gaetz identified the alleged extortionist as David McGee, a former Florida DOJ official who now works for the law firm Beggs & Lane, during a Tuesday evening television appearance. Gaetz sat for the interview hours after The New York Times reported that he was being investigated by the DOJ for allegedly conducting a sexual relationship with a minor.
McGee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Investigators are looking into whether Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws that make it illegal for an adult to induce someone under the age of 18 to cross state lines for sex, three people familiar with the investigation told the Times. The people said the investigation was part of a probe into Joel Greenberg, a Florida tax collector and ally of Gaetz who was indicted in 2020 on a number of charges, including sex trafficking of a minor.
The investigation into Gaetz began in the final months of the Trump administration, during William Barr’s tenure as U.S. attorney general. The encounters between Gaetz and the unidentified woman, believed to have been 17 years old at the time, occurred two years ago, two of the people said.
In a Twitter thread Tuesday night, Gaetz claimed that the allegations were part of an extortion effort by an unnamed former Department of Justice official. He also claimed that the FBI was working with his father to expose the extortion attempt.
Gaetz then identified the DOJ official as McGee during a subsequent appearance on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight.
The news comes the same day that Axios reported Gaetz is considering leaving Congress to become a host on right-wing media outlet Newsmax. A source said Gaetz has already held preliminary discussions with the network.
Gaetz has previously considered running for Senate in Alabama and Florida, although neither of those initiatives panned out. The congressman is a staunch ally of former President Trump, telling Politico in December that Trump should run for office again in 2024.
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