Far-right Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is embroiled in scandal after news broke that he's currently under federal investigation for the potential sex trafficking of a minor.
The investigation, which began under the Trump administration, centers around whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17 year old girl—and if he paid for her to travel across state lines.
The development has also shed further light on Gaetz's behavior before and since his election to the United States Congress in 2016. CNN reported that Gaetz allegedly showed nude photos of women he'd had sex with to his congressional colleagues, even on the House floor. One source told Business Insider that Gaetz played a Harry Potter style game with other male colleagues in the Florida state legislature, where they would assign points to certain sexual actions and partners.
Following the resignation of his Communications Director, Gaetz has now published an op-ed in the Republican-leaning Washington Examiner.
Gaetz dismissed the investigation as part of the "swamp" in D.C. out to get him, claiming it's the culmination of an extortion attempt by the Justice Department.
He opens the op-ed with:
"Washington scandal cycles are predictable, and sex is especially potent in politics. Let me first remind everyone that I am a representative in Congress, not a monk, and certainly not a criminal."
Ignoring that the investigation began under the Trump Justice Department, Gaetz writes:
"The Biden Justice Department would rather investigate me for adult, consensual sex than Hunter Biden for his shady business dealings, than others for illegal leaks, or a former Justice Department official for the evident extortion of a congressman. Go figure."
Gaetz insists that he's never had sex with a minor and that all of the allegations against him are false.
But the op-ed didn't do much to convince people of his innocence.
To some, it sounded like an admission of guilt.
Despite mounting pressure, Gaetz insists he won't be resigning from Congress.
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