Prosecutors have recommended against charging Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) in the Justice Department’s investigation into whether the freshman lawmaker violated federal sex laws, according to reports.
Senior DOJ officials have not yet issued a decision on whether they will press charges against Gaetz, who is accused of being involved in a sex-trafficking operation that allegedly paid women to cross state lines for sex, including an instance with a 17-year-old. However, prosecutors have told the agency they would recommend against charges because a conviction is unlikely due to credibility concerns with two of the main witnesses, sources told the Washington Post.
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The recommendation is the latest development of the DOJ’s investigation that opened in late 2020 seeking to determine whether Gaetz had paid women to travel for sex, whether the congressman had paid for sex at all, and whether he had sex with a minor.
Gaetz has denied all allegations, claiming the last time he had sex with a 17-year-old was when he was also 17. However, one of his associates pleaded guilty last spring to six criminal charges, one of which involved the sex-trafficking of a minor.
Although prosecutors have recommended no charges, they acknowledged additional evidence could emerge in the case that could alter this decision, sources told the outlet.
The revelations come days after it was reported that Gaetz sought a preemptive pardon from then-President Donald Trump regarding the DOJ investigation, a former White House aide testified to the Jan. 6 committee earlier this week.
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Gaetz has never asked Trump for a pardon, a spokesperson for the congressman told the outlet, without commenting on whether he asked ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for one.
“Congressman Matt Gaetz discussed pardons for many other people publicly and privately at the end of President Donald Trump’s first term,” the spokesperson said. “As for himself, President Trump addressed this malicious rumor more than a year ago stating, ‘Congressman Matt Gaetz has never asked me for a pardon.’ Rep. Gaetz continues to stand by President Trump’s statement.”
