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Matt Gaetz: ethics report to be released (soon?)

Gil Bang

By Gil Bang
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Guest Lobo

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Posted
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Maybe I missed it, but when did Gaetz take on the military-industrial complex?  That seems like something we'd remember, you know........'cause his office is in fucking Pensacola!  

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JimmyJames

JimmyJames 12271

Posted
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40 minutes ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

This thread is lacking all of the DT denizens from the Cuomo thread.

 

 

They’re afraid to post here. They just keep on giving themselves rep in DT on their stupid ass posts and crowd posting against anything normal stated in their supposedly non political DT posts. It’s frankly pathetic. 

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JimmyJames

JimmyJames 12271

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2 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

A lot of people do not realize that Gaetz going after the extortion attempt and trying to make it the story is the actual deflection from the original story about him being investigated over the 17 year old.

 

It’s a pizzagate deflection. He trafficked and fucked underage girls. The end. 

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

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So the extortionists emailed Matt, according to Congressman Gaetz?  Or the FBI emailed him and his dad with the details of their investigation techniques?  Because both seem totally reasonable in 2021.  Did the extortionist call you later and ask, "Hey, not sure if you got our email of demands...can you check your spam folder."  

And your Dad made "tapes" that you want made public?  Is there a group of suits in an unmarked van on the beach of Fort Walton with a reel-to-reel machine literally making "tapes" of your extorters?  

Did Harry Caul advise you on this case, you fucking idiot?  Plus, why are you still publicly talking about this?  It's impossible you're this ill-advised.

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pantone159

pantone159 727

Posted
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13 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Gaetz going after the extortion attempt and trying to make it the story is the actual deflection from the original story about him being investigated over the 17 year old.

It seems like this is kind of a Why Not Both? situation. Matt was being investigated, and somebody else found out and tried to hit up Matt's dad for money. Though 'attempted con' seems a much better description than 'extortion'.

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 90571

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Being extorted doesn't automatically negate the allegations that the extortion was about in the first place.

For instance, let's say somebody contacts me over Facebook a few months ago, claiming that they know I had a hand in the disappearance of a bully from our 6th grade class over 30 years ago, and asking for money. I could turn around and publicly say "this motherfucker is trying to extort money from me, here's the Facebook messages!"

I would not be lying in my claims of extortion, but that doesn't mean that the person is lying, and it also doesn't mean that Billy Hannigan's skeleton is not in the trunk of a "stolen" 1979 Ford LTD that was driven up to Eastern Oklahoma and then shoved into a deep coal pit full of water, that somebody's uncle knew was about to be backfilled later that week. Nor does it mean that my dad didn't get a quick transfer so he could move the family to another state, in the hopes that people would soon forget about me, which they did since I had only been there for only the first part of 6th grade, and therefore had only been bullied for a few months, whereas some kids had been tormented for years, and clearly had a motive. It also doesn't mean that my mother may have passed some rumors around to some of the neighbors that Old Man Johnson had had tried to corner me alone, and that she she thought he had a thing for young boys, and Billy Hannigan was probably considered good looking to a pedophile.  Maybe she left out the part about him chasing me because he caught me fishing in his pond, but he was an asshole, and maybe they should try and look through some of the abandoned wells on his property for any pieces of little kids, because there's all kinds of stories about why he has a bunch of old wells and what look like mining shafts on his property, and he sure as hell doesn't like people poking around his property, maybe he has something to hide?

Anyways, my point is, you can be extorted, and still have done something that causes the feds to look your way - the two are not mutually exclusive.  I'm not Matt Gaetz though, and in my hypothetical situation above, I would have made sure and told my would-be extortionist "if anything happens to me, I and some friends of mine know that your  mother is getting on in years, lives alone on her little farm, and oh, by the way, here's a photo taken of the mail in her mailbox, with postmarks you can read and see are from 2021, and the photo was taken two days after you messaged me, so think carefully about what you want to do. And I'm sure your daughter is really enjoying her time at North Texas by the way, here's a copy of her class schedule, is there anything else we need to discuss?"

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pantone159

pantone159 727

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tl;dr;strangely specific,...

Sure, you can be under investigation and extorted at the same time. But from what I read (not everything) it sounds like the 'extorters' weren't threatening to publicize anything, they just said they could make it go away for $$$. And they would have just taken the $$$ of course. I call that 'fraud' not 'extortion'.

 

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Mrs Whiggins

Mrs Whiggins 13050

Posted
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27 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

A lot of people do not realize that Gaetz going after the extortion attempt and trying to make it the story is the actual deflection from the original story about him being investigated over the 17 year old.

 

Well, that's because he's the victim in all of this. That's how it works.

Everyone bullies the white man, honey. Everyone steals him blind.

Everyone hits up the white man honey. He never gets peace of mind.

Everyone bullies the white man, honey. No one gives him a chance.

Here comes that girl with the cheerleader skirt. Maybe he'll ask her to dance...

 

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 90571

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, pantone159 said:

tl;dr;strangely specific,...

Sure, you can be under investigation and extorted at the same time. But from what I read (not everything) it sounds like the 'extorters' weren't threatening to publicize anything, they just said they could make it go away for $$$. And they would have just taken the $$$ of course. I call that 'fraud' not 'extortion'.

My guess is he was trying to get ahead of things and shape the story, since he realized that if they knew about the investigation, then a lot of other people did.

It's also harder to play the victim when you have some people claiming they can make an investigation go away, which would benefit you.

The fact that all of this revolves around Florida stuff, and Trump and Co. are living down there, and Trump would have known about the investigation if it started under Barr, really makes me wonder how this was being leaked, and who was leaking it.  The former DOJ/FBI/whatever guy that Gaetz named claimed that a shitload of people had already heard the rumors.

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Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand

Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13620

Posted
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1 hour ago, JimmyJames said:

They’re afraid to post here. They just keep on giving themselves rep in DT on their stupid ass posts and crowd posting against anything normal stated in their supposedly non political DT posts. It’s frankly pathetic. 

I've never seen anyone in the Cloak Room snap cuz they thought a poster posted a comment that they thought should be posted in the "Current Events" or whatever forum.

Ever.

Never seen it. 

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 55844

Posted
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1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

A lot of people do not realize that Gaetz going after the extortion attempt and trying to make it the story is the actual deflection from the original story about him being investigated over the 17 year old.

 

It's like he thinks that if this bribe story gets accepted as true, that's going to cause the other investigation to go away.

Not sure WTF he's thinking...

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StassneyHorn

StassneyHorn 6757

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36 minutes ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

I've never seen anyone in the Cloak Room snap cuz they thought a poster posted a comment that they thought should be posted in the "Current Events" or whatever forum.

Ever.

Never seen it. 

Neither have I, fuck that place

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Pasken

Pasken 1310

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, JimmyJames said:

They’re afraid to post here. They just keep on giving themselves rep in DT on their stupid ass posts and crowd posting against anything normal stated in their supposedly non political DT posts. It’s frankly pathetic. 

The best was the daily texan post celebrating Brexit because that makes sense.

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ChiTownDoc

ChiTownDoc 21326

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2 hours ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

I've never seen anyone in the Cloak Room snap cuz they thought a poster posted a comment that they thought should be posted in the "Current Events" or whatever forum.

Ever.

Never seen it. 

They're fucktards.  They clearly love politics but don't like being called out for their deranged pedo loving views.  With all the bullshit going on how could someone avoid coming here and at least firing some potshots at the traitors trying to ruin the country?  Oh, they don't like those traitors and what they're doing but they are WAY too good to come in here and drop off some sweet one liners.  Right.  Their silence by not coming here says plenty.  Maybe there was some plausible deniability before...but after this past year?  GTFO.  At this point DT should be open season for political bullshit.  If that drives those assholes out of that forum...tough shit. 

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Degenerate Gardner

Degenerate Gardner 4135

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, Lobo said:

Maybe I missed it, but when did Gaetz take on the military-industrial complex?  That seems like something we'd remember, you know........'cause his office is in fucking Pensacola!  

It was during Infrastructure Week. You probably missed it on account of all the sex trafficking tax collectors.

Edited by Degenerate Gardner
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Mdhorn

Mdhorn 6153

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Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

So if Gaetz goes to television, who goes along as his Beavis?

His real calling is televangelist.  He's about to find God and get granted the power to take the money from all the poor Florida saps.  It's coming--he's going to begin holding a bible in all of his public appearances.  

Trump, Gaetz, and the rest of the Florida Republican grifters--looking at you DeSantis, just panhandle Floridians for money.  I'm surprised Nunes hasn't set up a dairy there.  

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Francisco 2.0

Francisco 2.0 32547

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/republicans-have-been-waiting-for-a-matt-gaetz-scandal-to-break?ref=home?ref=home

 

Quote

After Rep. Matt Gaetz accused a Florida lawyer of a $25 million extortion scheme to make sex trafficking allegations disappear, Republicans on and off Capitol Hill on Wednesday largely kept their mouths shut.

Gaetz—the Trump-loving, Fox News-grinning, 38-year-old Florida Republican—has a less-than-sterling reputation among his congressional colleagues. More than a half-dozen lawmakers have spoken to these reporters about his love of alcohol and illegal drugs, as well as his proclivity for younger women. It’s well-known among Republican lawmakers that Gaetz was dating a college student—one over the age of consent—in 2018. She came to Washington as an intern.

 

Quote

In response to these allegations and a question about whether he had ever had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old while in Congress, Gaetz told The Daily Beast late Wednesday night:

“The last time I had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, I was 17. As for the Hill, I know I have many enemies and few friends. My support generally lies outside of Washington, D.C., and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

 

Quote

As for his few friends in Washington, The Daily Beast found that to be true. One former GOP staffer conveyed told us Wednesday that their office had an informal rule to not allow their member to appear next to Gaetz during TV hits, fearful of the inevitable scandal that would come out one day.

On Tuesday, it might finally have dropped.

 

Spoiler

According to The New York Times, Gaetz is under investigation by the Justice Department for potentially having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. While Gaetz has denied the existence of a 17-year-old lover, he’s been less offended about the suggestion that he’s dated women much younger than him while in Congress. And he’s openly admitted that he’s paid for flights and hotels for women to visit him.

“I’ve been, you know, generous as a partner,” Gaetz said Tuesday.

Now, Gaetz may be finding generosity in short supply among his colleagues. Only two House Republicans jumped to his defense on Wednesday: Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), who himself has been accused of turning a blind eye to sexual assault; and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has repeatedly boosted the QAnon conspiracy theory accusing Democrats of abusing children.

While Greene compared the Gaetz allegations to a “witch hunt” and the “conspiracy theories and lies like Trump/Russia collusion,” Jordan was more muted. “I believe Matt Gaetz,” he said in a statement to CNN.

GOP aides noted to The Daily Beast that Jordan has been one of Gaetz’s closest allies in Congress—and the most he would offer was that tepid statement and his support for Gaetz staying on the Judiciary Committee.

“I don’t think a lot of people are going to go out of their way to defend him, especially with this outlandish-sounding defense.”

More importantly, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) wasn’t exactly jumping to Gaetz’s corner.

McCarthy said on Fox News that he wanted to wait for the facts before meting out any punishment, like removing Gaetz from committees, but the GOP leader also offered that, “If it comes out to be true, yes, we would remove him.”

“Those are serious implications,” McCarthy said.

It was not surprising to some observers that the wagons didn’t circle around Gaetz in the explosive 24 hours after the scandal, even as the congressman produced documents that lent some weight to his extortion claims. “I don’t think a lot of people are going to go out of their way to defend him, especially with this outlandish-sounding defense,” one GOP staffer said. “I don’t think you’ll find a lot of people who are desperate to keep him involved in Republican politics.”

The cartoonishly scandalous perception of Gaetz is so commonplace that sometimes it’s visible, literally, in the halls of Congress. A Hill source sent The Daily Beast a photo of a trash bin outside Gaetz's office as lawmakers cleared out their offices at the end of a recent session. At the top of the heap was an empty Costco-size box of “Bareskin” Trojan condoms.

While he’s openly courted a number of women in Washington, Gaetz has not exactly made it a priority to court fellow lawmakers since arriving in Congress in 2017. He even wears his reluctance to win friends and influence GOP lawmakers as a badge of honor.

“I don’t really socialize with my colleagues,” Gaetz said in a 2019 profile in BuzzFeed News.

One person he does actively socialize with is the 45th president. He proved quick to defend Donald Trump at nearly every opportunity, yes, but even quicker to criticize his GOP colleagues for insufficient Trump support. At the same time, he’s also run afoul of Trump: he was reportedly “iced out” of the White House in 2020 when he backed a resolution curbing the president’s ability to wage war with Iran, after Democrats said they would give Gaetz a vote on one of his amendments if he would support the overall war powers bill.

The rift was short-lived, however, as Trump looked for Capitol Hill allies during the early days of the COVID crisis and Gaetz was more than happy to defend the president.

His desire to be on TV most days of the week has shown lawmakers what Matt Gaetz’s primary goal is in Congress: the promotion of Matt Gaetz. He rarely partners with colleagues on bills and has yet to see any legislation he authored become law. Constant rumors about his ambition to seek higher office in Florida—or even Alabama—underscored the perception he didn’t prioritize the job.

 

Four years into his House career, Gaetz’s theatrics have put off Democrats and Republicans alike. His visit to Wyoming in February to host a rally condemning House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) for her vote to impeach Trump rubbed many the wrong way, even if they opposed Cheney’s vote.

“Even the Republican Party doesn’t like him very much,” said a Republican operative familiar with the Florida congressional delegation.

Still, Gaetz does have allies—they’re just less interested in defending him at the moment than they are in attacking the media.

Reached by phone on Wednesday, Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate, said he thinks the New York Times is a “joke” and has no confidence in their reporting. Huckabee was an early backer of Gaetz’s—he hosted a fundraiser for the congressman in 2018 at his beach home not far from the congressman’s hometown—and is reportedly close with his family.

“He said it didn’t happen,” Huckabee told The Daily Beast. “Until proven otherwise, I think he deserves the same consideration of the presumption of innocence and due process as anybody else.”

Back home in Gaetz’s deep red Florida district, the story is also landing with a skeptical audience. John Roberts, the chair of the Escambia County Republican Party, said he doubted any reporting from the Times and other mainstream media after the Trump era. “Republicans aren’t here saying, ‘Oh dear what’s happening,’” Roberts told The Daily Beast. “Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, another smear job.’”

But even Roberts—who leads the GOP organization in the largest county in the district where Gaetz and his father, former state Sen. Don Gaetz, have been fixtures for decades—claimed he did not personally know the congressman, saying he has talked with him “a few times briefly.”

“We’ve been very supportive of him politically. I’m just very skeptical of this whole thing,” Roberts said.

The most deafening silence, though, is that of another Florida resident: the former president.

Gaetz is perhaps Trump’s biggest defender in Congress. In February, Gaetz offered to resign his office if it meant he got the opportunity to defend the ex-president at his impeachment trial. And a story where the New York Times attacks a GOP politician—when that politician is actually the victim—almost seems made for Trump.

But so far, the ex-president has remained on the sidelines, waiting to see what comes out next. So has his son, Don Jr., who is an influential Gaetz ally, too. He has tweeted numerous times since Tuesday evening, but offered no defense of the congressman.

As much as Trump would probably like to slam the media for allegedly inaccurate and irresponsible reporting, it appears he’s unwilling to attach his name to Gaetz right now the way that Gaetz has attached his name to Trump’s.

 

 

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MC Fresh Breath

MC Fresh Breath 4075

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, JimmyJames said:

They’re afraid to post here. They just keep on giving themselves rep in DT on their stupid ass posts and crowd posting against anything normal stated in their supposedly non political DT posts. It’s frankly pathetic. 

 

9 hours ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

I've never seen anyone in the Cloak Room snap cuz they thought a poster posted a comment that they thought should be posted in the "Current Events" or whatever forum.

Ever.

Never seen it. 

 

6 hours ago, ChiTownDoc said:

They're fucktards.  They clearly love politics but don't like being called out for their deranged pedo loving views.  With all the bullshit going on how could someone avoid coming here and at least firing some potshots at the traitors trying to ruin the country?  Oh, they don't like those traitors and what they're doing but they are WAY too good to come in here and drop off some sweet one liners.  Right.  Their silence by not coming here says plenty.  Maybe there was some plausible deniability before...but after this past year?  GTFO.  At this point DT should be open season for political bullshit.  If that drives those assholes out of that forum...tough shit. 

 

There is truth in all this, but they sure were able to come over to the CR, start a thread on a Democratic Governor of New York, and then express their concerns over such inappropriate behavior.  I expected as the champions of morality (minus Trump) they should express their concerns here about the serious allegations against an actual Congressman.  

 

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Mrs Whiggins

Mrs Whiggins 13050

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Extortion or not, a crime was committed

Not wanting to make light of the victim/crime, but I am still of the opinion that while the 'extortion' claim is a PR diversion to deflect heat from the original investigation, there is more there there in relation to Stone and Greenberg and the database manipulation (fake IDs, misuse of funds to nonexistent businesses). A tax collector has access to a lot of information and I am very skeptical of Stone in that once he is allies with a shady character willing to abuse his position (Greenberg), I could see him getting up to all sorts of nefarious activities in that regard. Just how far reaching is that pardon?

The January 6th Commission evaporated, but the House investigation, would it be remiss of them not to dig around a little into some of this? There is so much criming, it is overwhelming.

The life of a political mafia operative must be exhausting.

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pyrohornIII

pyrohornIII 4845

Posted
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I would think if the GOP wanted some sacrificial lamb to send up in order to show they have morals, then Gaetz would be prime.  But I have no doubts that if he's going down, he's taking everyone else down with him he has dirt on.   Like Francisco's article from the DailyBeast above stated, no one wants to be seen as his buddy.   But they also have know idea what he knows/has on everyone else.  

He's like mini-Trump to them. 

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hpslugga

hpslugga 4097

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

I would think if the GOP wanted some sacrificial lamb to send up in order to show they have morals, then Gaetz would be prime.  But I have no doubts that if he's going down, he's taking everyone else down with him he has dirt on.   Like Francisco's article from the DailyBeast above stated, no one wants to be seen as his buddy.   But they also have know idea what he knows/has on everyone else.  

He's like mini-Trump to them. 

That ship sailed almost 50 years ago, and it only gets further from the harbor as the years roll on.

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 46077

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Mdhorn said:

His real calling is televangelist.  He's about to find God and get granted the power to take the money from all the poor Florida saps.  It's coming--he's going to begin holding a bible in all of his public appearances.  

Trump, Gaetz, and the rest of the Florida Republican grifters--looking at you DeSantis, just panhandle Floridians for money.  I'm surprised Nunes hasn't set up a dairy there.  

This is an almost certainty.  If he doesn't, he's missing a massive opportunity.

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Mrs Whiggins

Mrs Whiggins 13050

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

 

Paywall; but thanks. I'm aware of the investigation into Greenberg from other media, but does the article delve into broader issues? I'm thinking of the alleged coordination with the Florida Proud Boys and Oathkeepers with respect to January 6th--Roger Stone had a hand in that. One of the other articles mentioned Greenberg's siphoning of dollars had been spent on protective equipment/tactical gear to the tune of $384,000 dollars.

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