Career prosecutors recommend no charges for Gaetz in sex-trafficking probe
Source: Washington Post
Career prosecutors have recommended against charging Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in a long-running sex-trafficking investigation telling Justice Department superiors that a conviction is unlikely in part because of credibility questions with the two central witnesses, according to people familiar with the matter.
Senior department officials have not made a final decision on whether to charge Gaetz, but it is rare for such advice to be rejected, these people told The Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the deliberations. They added that it is always possible additional evidence emerges that could alter prosecutors understanding of the case. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that federal authorities will charge Gaetz with a crime in an investigation that started in late 2020 and focused on his alleged involvement with a 17-year-old girl several years earlier.
Gaetz, 40, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying he has never paid for sex. He has also said the only time he had sex with a 17-year-old was when he was also 17. Gaetzs lawyer, Isabelle Kirshner, declined to comment. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. Investigators set out to determine if the congressman paid for sex in violation of federal sex-trafficking laws and have examined his dealings with the then-17-year-old, people familiar with the matter have said. Earlier this year, a federal grand jury in Orlando heard testimony from associates of Gaetz, including an ex-girlfriend.
The ex-girlfriend was among several women on a trip Gaetz allegedly took to the Bahamas in 2018 that has been of particular interest to investigators. The 17-year-old at issue in the investigation was also on that trip, though by that time she was already 18 or older, people familiar with the matter have said. She has been a central witness in the investigation, but people familiar with the case said she is one of two people whose testimony has issues that veteran prosecutors feel would not pass muster with a jury.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/23/gaetz-no-charges-sex-trafficking/
No paywall link
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)BumRushDaShow
(128,372 posts)and that was despite this nugget of guilt -
By Jacqueline Alemany and Amy Gardner
September 17, 2022 at 12:40 p.m. EDT
Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told a former White House aide that he was seeking a preemptive pardon from President Donald Trump regarding an investigation in which he is a target, according to testimony given to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Johnny McEntee, according to people familiar with his testimony, told investigators that Gaetz told him during a brief meeting that they are launching an investigation into him or that theres an investigation into him, without specifying who was investigating Gaetz.
McEntee added that Gaetz told him he did not do anything wrong but they are trying to make his life hell, and you know, if the president could give him a pardon, that would be great. Gaetz told McEntee that he had asked White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for a pardon.
Asked by investigators if Gaetzs request for a pardon was in the context of the Justice Department investigation into whether Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, McEntee replied, I think that was the context, yes, according to people familiar with the testimony who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
(snip)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/17/matt-gaetz-pardon-sex-trafficking-probe/
But I wouldn't be surprised if they get him on something else if they don't go forward... like this -
Its not clear what roles Brian Babin and Louie Gohmert played in the December 2020 meeting preceding the U.S. Capitol attack that interrupted Congress certification of the vote.
by Eric Neugeboren July 12, 20226 PM Central
(snip)
The December 2020 meeting also included some of Trumps most ardent Republican supporters in Congress, according to visitor logs obtained by the committee: Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Andy Harris of Maryland, Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona, Jody Hice of Georgia, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania. Representative-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia also attended.
(snip)
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/12/jan-6-committee-texans-brian-babin-louie-gohmert/
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)jimfields33
(15,669 posts)But the shocking part really is that Trump said no. That is really crazy.
BumRushDaShow
(128,372 posts)as Flynn, Bannon, or Stone. Those 3 were and still are, hard core criminals!
50 Shades Of Blue
(9,916 posts)droidamus2
(1,699 posts)Are all those 'career prosecutors' men?
Baitball Blogger
(46,676 posts)to remedy.
Evolve Dammit
(16,694 posts)spudspud
(511 posts)Ocelot II
(115,576 posts)They have to prove the elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, and without good witnesses they can't do it. It would be even worse if he'd been tried, the witnesses were not credible, and he was acquitted - but it's disappointing.
Elessar Zappa
(13,896 posts)the feds generally wont bring a case to trial until theyre almost 100% sure theyll get a conviction or plea. I think the conviction rate for federal cases is above 95%.
fanfanois
(61 posts)Why do you ask for a pardon?
Fiendish Thingy
(15,544 posts)Baitball Blogger
(46,676 posts)Crowman2009
(2,490 posts)One system of justice for them, while the rest of us get tossed in the slammer. It's a special club, and we ain't in it!
SoCalDavidS
(9,998 posts)A preview of what's in store for TFG.
This Country IS A FUCKING JOKE!
Traildogbob
(8,670 posts)But I think we need to prepare ourselves for that exact outcome. History has shown. But I at least hope we can end his retirement and health care checks for him, and then until his Ho dies. I mean he never accepted pay (🤔 while in office, so why should tax payers give a traitor a benefits package for life, passed on to his, whatever the hell role she plays. She really doesnt care, do we?
PortTack
(32,691 posts)Novara
(5,817 posts)The fucker asked for a pre-emptive pardon for sex trafficking young girls and because they don't have a perfect witness they won't prosecute?????????
To hell with the victims, I guess.
Ponietz
(2,934 posts)Aileen Cannon was a senior appellate prosecutor before taking the bench. Theyre polishing another turd.
SledDriver
(2,057 posts)bluestarone
(16,851 posts)3auld6phart
(1,039 posts)He is a feckinscummy repuke. Let him go . Isnt that the natural way of the US justice
system? repukes can get away with almost anything.
Justice matters.
(6,915 posts)indicted, tried, convicted, and thrown in the slammer a long time ago.
Yep. What else is new?
Carlitos Brigante
(26,494 posts)oldsoftie
(12,486 posts)Because it was taking WAY too long
Maybe something will change
PA_jen
(1,114 posts)OldBaldy1701E
(5,082 posts)So, can we agree on your statement yet? Because plenty of people still seem to think it is worth saving, or that it works, just not as well as it should.
Deminpenn
(15,265 posts)The two witnesses probably would not have fared well under cross-examination.
Sewa
(1,250 posts)Why dont I trust the DOJ? 💀🤙
hamsterjill
(15,220 posts)The sight of him makes my skin crawl. Hes deviant. He wont be able to control himself. He will do it again.
Our great justice system was bought and paid for yet again.
SunSeeker
(51,504 posts)The fact is, these career prosecutors have limited resources and are afraid they'll be buried by paper and appeals when they go against someone famous with a ton of family money like Gaetz. Us little people just roll over, and our public defenders just want a plea deal, not a long draw out trial.
In other words, these career prosecutors are lazy and gutless.
chowder66
(9,046 posts)All worrying about today's WaPo claim that "prosecutors recommended against charging" Matt Gaetz - it's actually good news; it's by @DevlinBarrett who wrote that FBI found "no grand [Jan 6] conspiracy" the week before the 1st seditious conspiracy charge 1/
washingtonpost.com/national-secur
The WaPo source on Gaetz is an anonymous "people familiar with the matter" - not prosecutors. Not only would it be illegal for DOJ to leak, absolutely no one at DOJ is going to talk to Barrett since his previous story about the Mar-a-Lago docs was used against DOJ in court. 2/
Image
@mentions
's Mar-a-Lago "leak" was used by both Trump and Judge Cannon to justify shutting down the FBI's investigation of Trump - because there were leaks. Barrett almost derailed the whole DOJ investigation - no one there would talk to him now. 3/
Unroll available on Thread Reader
Link to tweet
The two recent WaPo stories use identical language to describe their anonymous sources: "according to people familiar with the matter". Those people are not DOJ. They're on the other side, people who want this story in the press now, for some reason. It's planted propaganda. 4/
Image
What do the familiar anonymous sources like to tell @DevlinBarrett about DOJ prosecutions? They like to tell him what DOJ is unlikely to do. This week that "a conviction [of Gaetz] is unlikely". In January, that "charges for Trump ...seem unlikely". 5/
washingtonpost.com/national-secur
Image
The Jan 5 WaPo story on the Capitol attack claimed FBI found no ' grand conspiracy', and painted attackers as "mostly everyday Americans including community leaders and small-business owners". The source: Jonathan Turley, who testified for Trump during his 1st impeachment. 6/
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One week after that Jan 5 WaPo story, the DOJ finally made an announcement - that they'd indicted militia leader Stewart Rhodes and ten of his Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracy. The WaPo story seems meant to undercut this news. 7/
Leader of Oath Keepers and 10 Other Individuals Indicted in Federal Court for Seditious Conspiracy and Other Offenses Related to U.S. Capitol Breach
A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment yesterday, which was unsealed today, charging 11 defendants with seditious conspiracy and other charges for crimes related to th
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-oath-keepers-and-10-other-individuals-indicted-federal-court-seditious-conspiracy-and
The WaPo language pooh-poohing a 'grand conspiracy' is oddly similar to that in a Reuters article 6 months prior, that cited anonymous sources saying FBI found no 'grand scheme'. It mentioned Alex Jones by name - and 3 days later FBI arrested Alex Jones' partner Owen Shroyer. 8/
Image
The upshot: many stories seem planted. It feels awful to think that, but the pattern is undeniable. And big arrests are often preceded by planted stories that try to undercut that news. So if Gaetz is nervous enough now to plant one, be joyful- something big is likely coming. 9/
What IS distressing, though, is that blue-checked accounts are amplifying this latest planted story, the same way they amplified others. (Here's the Sep 6 fallout.) Please, do your homework before posting! Don't let yourself be manipulated so easily. 10/
BumRushDaShow
(128,372 posts)So one would think that someone admitting to requesting a "preemptive pardon" has some liability going on there.
It's also possible that as the "over-turning the election" investigation continues, he is one of the bullseyes that attended some big call in December 2020 -
Bryan Metzger
Jul 12, 2022, 3:41 PM
(snip)
The House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, offered new details on Tuesday about a meeting at the White House that involved several Republican members of Congress ahead of the meeting of the joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 presidential election.
(snip)
Vice President Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, and Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff at the time, attended the meeting, along with President Donald Trump, Murphy said.
(snip)
Cipollone said he tried to attend the meeting himself but was apparently turned away.
Here are the 11 House Republicans who were at the meeting, according to the White House visitor logs obtained by the January 6 panel:
Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama Rep. Brian Babin of Texas Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
The committee previously shared a number of Republicans who sought pardons from Trump in the final days of his administration. Six of the attendees of the December 21, 2020, meeting Biggs, Brooks, Gaetz, Gohmert, Greene, and Perry sought pardons.
https://www.businessinsider.com/house-republicans-white-house-meeting-december-21-2020-election-2022-7
chowder66
(9,046 posts)Mr.Bill
(24,228 posts)lets juries decide innocence or guilt, not career prosecutors.
Remember, at every trial half the lawyers are wrong.
madville
(7,403 posts)They think they have a slam dunk win, way its always been.
ancianita
(35,926 posts)If Gaetz gets indicted as a co-conspirator in the Dec 20 meeting, that's good enough for me. I want the DOJ's indictments of Trump and everyone else in the runup to Jan 6 to happen before Nov, but don't think they'll happen. Even if they do, indictments of Republican midterm winners should gut their numbers in the House. We'll see.
FBaggins
(26,714 posts)Joinfortmill
(14,378 posts)ificandream
(9,318 posts)Link to tweet
?s=46&t=XlSHSVR0Ukf2KOT488P2Xw
Karma13612
(4,538 posts)This smells so bad. Just like the crap with Epstein and Acosta.