Politics - News Analysis

The News Keeps Getting Worse and Worse for Matt Gaetz as Another Shoe Has Dropped

Our boy Matt Gaetz’s fortunes just took a turn for the worse, much worse.

One of Gaetz’s only political defenses (as opposed to legal defenses) has been that “the swamp” is after him and Merrick Garland’s corrupt prosecutors just want a piece of Gaetz because Gaetz is so close to Trump and so tough on liberals. Gaetz has even described himself as one of the people “standing in the way” between us and the federal government.

Tonight the New York Times takes that entire defense and tosses it into the Gulf of Mexico, just off Gaetz’s district, by reporting that Gaetz’s alleged co-conspirator has been cooperating with federal officials for over a year. Yes, that means that Gaetz’s issues started under Bill Barr’s DOJ and Merrick Garland only inherited a giant mess. It also means that the feds have a ton of stuff on Gaetz.

Mr. Greenberg, who is said to have met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates in exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and allowances and introduced them to Mr. Gaetz, could provide investigators with firsthand accounts of their activities.

Mr. Greenberg began speaking with investigators once he realized that the government had overwhelming evidence against him and that his only path to leniency lay in cooperation, the people said. He has met several times with investigators to try to establish his trustworthiness, though the range of criminal charges against him — including fraud — could undermine his credibility as a witness.

As a public official with a lot of power and responsibility, Gaetz is a big fish for the federal officials to prosecute and protect the country from further corruption.

Gaetz’s only real hope (should the allegations prove true, he is presumed innocent) is if Gaetz can provide evidence against an even bigger fish, perhaps an ex-president hanging out in Mar-a-Lago. There is little hope that Gaetz could provide such evidence. Trump has a feral instinct in avoiding legal consequences to his actions and keeps many parts of his life compartmentalized. It is unlikely that Gaetz knows much about Trump’s crimes. There is one notable exception. If Trump asked Gaetz to lie or obstruct an investigation (he would probably have had to lie under oath, making it tougher) but if Trump asked Gaetz to participate in some sort of cover-up or incitement, perhaps Gaetz would have something to offer.

Probably not.

Gaetz is in a world of trouble.

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