WATCH: Matt Gaetz Releases Comeback Video Using Project Veritas Footage That Paints Him as a Victim

If you believe the recent raft of reports from reputable outlets, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is reeling from investigations into alleged sordid behavior that rise to “sex trafficking.” The embattled Florida Republican has released a new video designed to raise money, perhaps to pay for legal fees, and relies on footage secretly obtained by Project Veritas that paints him as a victim.

The most charitable way to describe the video might be to say it’s unique. A more critical description would call it staged and inauthentic, as Gaetz is captured speaking at a podium addressing assembled cameras, with no audience in sight. Predictably, Gaetz casts himself as a victim of the media attacks and relies on footage from a recent Project Veritas campaign designed to expose alleged bias at CNN.

The footage shows Charlie Chester, a CNN technical director, who was surreptitiously recorded saying things that appear to reveal an anti-Gaetz agenda, though it is difficult for a first-time viewer to immediately know the full context of what was said, due to heavy editing by the Gaetz post-production team.

The one-minute-long video does not feature Gaetz explicitly asking for money, other than the massive lower third that reads DONATE of course. The Florida Republican ends by telling his supporters that “big media, big tech, and big government” aren’t just “coming for me. They’re coming for you.”

Watch the video below:

The fundraising video was met with derision from predictable precincts on Twitter, but it was perhaps The Lincoln Project’s reply which asked “Do you take Venmo,” which landed best.