Florida Politician Accuses Matt Gaetz of Inventing ‘Game’ For ‘Sleeping With Aides, Interns, Lobbyists, Married Legislators’ (UPDATED)

Charlie NashJan 14th, 2020, 5:22 pm
 

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Florida state representative Chris Latvala accused Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) of creating a game “where members of the FL House got ‘points’ for sleeping with aides, interns, lobbyists, and married legislators,” Tuesday.

After Gaetz called out Latvala for posting a photograph with Al Sharpton on Twitter, Latvala replied, “And you created a game where members of the FL House got ‘points’ for sleeping with aides, interns, lobbyists, and married legislators. Hope DC is treating you well, Comgressman.”

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Latvala cited “a 2013 tweet by Politico’s Marc Caputo, who was then at the Miami Herald,” in a text message.

Representatives allegedly received one point for sleeping with a lobbyist, two points for sleeping with staff, three points for sleeping with another legislator, and six points for sleeping with a married legislator.

Caputo’s post, however, did not mention Gaetz.

Gaetz denied the allegation, however, telling the Tampa Bay Times he had “no idea what Chris was talking about.”

“I know Jack Latvala has to resign in disgrace over demanding sexual favors from lobbyists in exchange for appropriations, so it was likely Chris projecting,” he continued, namedropping Latvala’s father: former Florida state senator Jack Latvala. “I don’t start conversations with people on Twitter about their sex lives. Especially Latvalas.”

Gaetz also publicly responded online, tweeting Latvala, “Just because I own you on twitter, don’t confuse me for your daddy when it comes to abusing power for sex. Also, I missed the defense of Sharpton in your reply.”

UPDATE: Politico reporter Marc Caputo, who was reportedly cited by Latvala, addressed the allegations in a Twitter post on Thursday, where he denied accusing Gaetz of participating in the game.

“All of a sudden, this nearly 7-year-old tweet is surfacing. And people are falsely accusing me of falsely accusing @mattgaetz of this,” he declared. “I did no such thing.”

Gaetz also responded.

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