Tag Archives: scandal

Politico reports: A new name has surfaced tied to the scandal engulfing Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz: Joe Ellicott, a close friend and former employee of the elected tax collector who pleaded guilty to a host of crimes Monday. Nicknamed “Big Joe,” Ellicott was listed in a federal grand jury subpoena sent to a different individual and obtained by POLITICO. The …

Yahoo News reports: The FBI is investigating what it describes as a massive scheme to illegally finance Sen. Susan Collins’ 2020 re-election bid. A recently unsealed search warrant application shows the FBI believes a Hawaii defense contractor illegally funneled $150,000 to a pro-Collins super PAC and reimbursed donations to Collins’ campaign. There’s no indication that Collins or her team were …

The Daily Beast reports: When Rep. Matt Gaetz attended a 2019 GOP fundraiser in Orlando, his date that night was someone he knew well: a paid escort and amateur Instagram model who led a cocaine-fueled party after the event, according to two witnesses. The Florida congressman’s one-time wingman, Joel Greenberg, will identify that escort to investigators as one of more …

Politico reports: Federal investigators are intensifying their sex-crimes probe of Rep. Matt Gaetz as they discuss a potential immunity arrangement with his former girlfriend and have struck a tentative deal with his one-time “wingman” who will likely plead guilty, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section also continues to interview potential …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for Monday in federal court in the case of Joel Greenberg, the former Seminole County tax collector who resigned in disgrace last June. Greenberg — who is required to attend the 10 a.m. hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie Hoffman — is expected to plead guilty to federal …

Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports: The Holy See has accepted the resignation of the bishop of the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, Jan Tyrawa, over alleged negligence in the face of sex abuse accusations against priests subordinate to him, a Vatican diplomat said on Wednesday. Tyrawa tendered his resignation after the end of a Vatican investigation, which looked into accusations of the sexual …

CNN reports: Federal investigators scrutinizing Rep. Matt Gaetz are seeking the cooperation of a former Capitol Hill intern who was once a girlfriend of the Florida Republican, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. Investigators could also soon gain the formal cooperation of a second key witness, former Florida county tax collector Joel Greenberg, who is approaching a deadline this …

Reuters reports: A federal investigation into whether U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz trafficked a minor for sex will not be derailed by his assertion that a veteran asked his father for money to pay for the release of an American held by Iran, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said. Investigators believe the purported scheme to free Robert Levinson, …

CNN reports: Federal authorities are looking into whether a 2018 trip to the Bahamas involving Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz and several young women was part of an orchestrated effort to illegally influence Gaetz in the area of medical marijuana, people briefed on the matter told CNN. Prosecutors with the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section are examining whether Gaetz took gifts, …

Matt Gertz reports at Media Matters: Since cashing a check from the reelection campaign of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) in March, notorious political dirty trickster Roger Stone has furiously defended the congressman amid a firestorm surrounding a federal investigation into his activities. On his social media accounts and in an interview with Infowars’ Alex Jones, Stone attacked the story as …

The New York Times reports: Liberty University has sued Jerry Falwell Jr. for $10 million, exacerbating the messy divorce between the Christian university and its former president whose family name has been synonymous with the university since its founding. The new suit, which alleges breach of contract and fiduciary duty, claims that Mr. Falwell withheld scandalous and potentially damaging information …

Talking Points Memo reports: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said Thursday that he has spoken to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) about the allegations against him, and that Gaetz maintained his innocence. When prodded by reporters about what it would take for him to remove Gaetz from his committees or otherwise punish him, McCarthy indicated that he’s waiting for an …

Politico reports: The son of Jerry Falwell Jr. is out of his job as vice president at Liberty University nearly eight months after his father resigned as president of the Christian school amid allegations of inappropriate personal behavior and financial self-dealing. Liberty University spokesperson Scott Lamb on Wednesday confirmed to POLITICO that Trey Falwell was “no longer employed by the …

The Daily Beast reports: Honchos at Fox were annoyed—and in some cases infuriated—by their perception that Gaetz, in his first big television interview after the “Gaetzgate” broke, had used two different parts of his Tucker Carlson appearance to try to rope the Fox News star into the congressman’s scandal. Multiple people at Fox described it as Gaetz seemingly trying to …

The Daily Beast reports: In the Venmo transactions reviewed by The Daily Beast, there are at least 16 payments in 2017 totaling nearly $5,000 to a woman who would later go on to date Matt Gaetz. Additionally, Greenberg paid her $1,500 over the course of two days in April 2017 using Cash App. That woman—who came to Washington, D.C. as …

Kansas City’s NBC News affiliate reports: A Missouri state lawmaker exiled from the House Republican caucus over accusations of sexually and physically abusing his children years ago on Tuesday said he will step down. Republican Rep. Rick Roeber in his resignation letter said he will resign Friday. He represents the 34th District in the Missouri House of Representatives. Roeber did …

Politico reports: Gaetz’s predicament as the subject of a serious investigation became clearer this winter when federal agents executed a search warrant and seized his iPhone, according to interviews with three people who were told of the matter by Gaetz, who changed his phone number in late December. Around that time, the sources said, federal agents also seized his former …

The New York Times reports: A former local official in Florida indicted in the Justice Department investigation that is also focused on Representative Matt Gaetz has been providing investigators with information since last year about an array of topics, including Mr. Gaetz’s activities, according to two people briefed on the matter. Joel Greenberg, a onetime county tax collector, disclosed to …

Politico reports: The Florida county tax collector was five days away from a federal indictment for sex trafficking involving a 17-year-old — the same one Gaetz is now being investigated over — so Greenberg reached out to mutual friends on Aug. 14 last year and tried to enlist them in his defense, according to a WhatsApp chat. He fumed that …

Fox News reports: Rep. Matt Gaetz, R.-Fla., who has vowed to fight allegations of sexual misconduct against him, took to Twitter late Sunday to challenge a CNN report that he was denied a meeting with former President Trump at Mar-a-Lago. “This is a total lie. I am on a pre-planned vacation with my fiancée. I was welcomed at Trump Doral …