Gaetz’s Father Speaks Out, Says He Told FBI He Was ‘Willing to Wear a Wire’
Congressman Matt Gaetz is under investigation by the DOJ for, per a New York Times report that broke Tuesday, “over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him.” He claimed that his family has been targeted by an extortion scheme and they went to the FBI, which had his father wear a wire.
His father, former Florida State senate president Don Gaetz, spoke to Politico and said he has been working with the FBI.
The elder Gaetz said he was going to wear a wire and meet with one individual involved in this alleged plot on Wednesday, but that “fell apart” after news of the DOJ investigation broke.
He told Politico he met with David McGee, a former DOJ official, earlier this month and wore a wire. “The FBI asked me to try and get that information for Matt and an indication we would transfer money to Mr. David McGee.”
McGee, who was first named by the younger Gaetz in his Fox News interview Tuesday night, denied the allegations of extortion in a statement to The Daily Beast.
Politico’s report says the congressman’s office provided emails where “Don Gaetz’s cooperation [with the FBI] was discussed and confirmed.”
The elder Gaetz claimed that while he told the FBI “I’m willing to wear a wire and be cooperative,” he was “asked to say things that are not true to draw out an admission.”
The investigation was opened under Bill Barr, and the report says the former Attorney General was briefed multiple times on the matter:
The briefings were consistent with Barr’s memo requiring notification to department leadership on probes of candidates. The briefing was important because — among other reasons — Barr didn’t want to accidentally appear anywhere with Gaetz, the person said. At one point, Barr was scheduled for a meet-and-greet with Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee. But DOJ canceled his appearance at the event when they saw that Gaetz, a member of that committee, had RSVP’d for it.
