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DOJ will not charge Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz after years-long sex-trafficking investigation | Florida News | Orlando

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Screenshot via Matt Gaetz/Twitter

The Justice Department has said it will not bring any charges against Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida GOP congressman, after a years-long federal sex-trafficking investigation.

The Wednesday decision punctuates a two-years-long probe into the alleged sex-trafficking case, during which prosecutors filed no charges against Gaetz, rendering the DOJ’s final decision unsurprising.

“We have just spoken with the DOJ and have been informed that they have concluded their investigation into Congressman Gaetz and allegations related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice and they have determined not to bring any charges against him,” Gaetz’s lawyers, Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirshner, said in a statement.

Gaetz, who has been serving in Congress since 2017, has been the subject of a long-running investigation into allegations that he violated federal law by paying for sex, including sex with underage girls.

The investigations, which began in 2020, intensified when Gaetz’s then-friend Joel Greenberg pleaded guilty to six federal crimes, including stalking and sex-trafficking of a minor. The disgraced Florida tax collector agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of his plea agreement, which prompted a look at Gaetz.

Gaetz has denied allegations of any wrongdoing repeatedly, including accusations that he had sex with a minor, that he transported an alleged victim across state lines to engage in sex for pay or that he obstructed justice in an effort to cover up unlawful actions.

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