He hasn’t been charged yet and his colleagues in Congress are saying they won’t do anything until something “formal” happens — read indictment — and they won’t have long to wait. I stand by my prediction he’ll be gone next week. If somebody can explain to me how it’s not the beginning of the end when the feds have your phone, please do so. I’m listening.
That said, Gaetz just laid down six figures for a thirty-second spot targeting CNN. Politico:
The new 30-second ad will be featured in the Florida Republican’s congressional district and nationally on select cable networks, according to a statement from Gaetz’s congressional campaign. The ad marks the beginning of Gaetz’s counteroffensive, as he “fight[s] back against a multiweek fake news cycle against him,” it said.
“Now we see what’s really behind all of this: Democratic Party and media-driven smears aimed at taking out a Congressman of the United States,” a spokesperson for the Friends of Matt Gaetz said in the statement. […]
However, the ad offers some insight into Gaetz’s strategy moving forward by embracing the “fake news” label popularized by Trump. The ad incorporates footage obtained by Project Veritas, a conservative activist organization that has been known to use deceptive practices and spread misinformation in attempts to expose what it views as “corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct” from liberal organizations or individuals.
In the footage, a man identified as a CNN employee is heard making remarks about the news organization’s coverage of Gaetz. A spokesperson for CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Going on the offense is always a good defense. Publicly, that might work, and Gaetz may go own in flames a right-wing martyr. But the sad part is that the law is the law and if Bill Barr was distancing himself from this one, it is hot.
Vanity Fair reports on how on Gaetz’ status has worsened in just the past few days.
Since the news broke that the Justice Department is investigating Rep. Matt Gaetz for allegedly paying women for sex and, separately, sleeping with a minor and transporting her across state lines, things have gotten exponentially worse for the congressman on a near-biweekly basis. For instance, last Friday we noted that the Republican lawmaker was “well and truly f–ked,” in light of Venmo transactions showing Gaetz had paid $900 to his accused sex-trafficker friend, Joel Greenberg, which Greenberg proceeded to send to three young women. On Tuesday, though, new reporting indicated that he has been upgraded to exceptionally, royally f–ked.
TheNew York Times reported that Greenberg, Gaetz’s close friend who was first indicted last year and has now been charged on 33 counts, including sex trafficking of a minor, bribery, stalking, and defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program, is said to have been providing investigators with information on “an array of topics, including Mr. Gaetz’s activities,” for several months now. Greenberg, who is currently in jail after violating the terms of his bail, reportedly told prosecutors that he and the congressman “had encounters with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex,” according to two people familiar with the matter. The DOJ is also investigating if the two men had sex with a 17-year-old girl; it’s not clear if Greenberg, a former Seminole County, Florida, tax collector, has offered up any information on that front. (According to TheNew York Times, the minor Gaetz allegedly slept with is said to be the same one Greenberg was charged with sex trafficking.)
I’m sticking with my timeline.