"[262][263][264], On March 31, 2021, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he had no plans to remove Gaetz from his seats on the Judiciary and Armed Services Committees, but that he might change his mind if Gaetz "gets indicted"[265] or "if it comes out to be true. )[288] Gaetz was also accused of violating the Mann Act, which prohibits sex trafficking across state lines. Gaetz went on to outline a former Google employee who reported that Google was indeed targeting conservative media and those who support President Trump. [284][285] In January 2022, an ex-girlfriend of Gaetz's testified before a grand jury after being granted immunity;[286] she reportedly had information relevant to two of three criminal charges being considered for Gaetz: sex trafficking a minor and obstruction of justice. [7][8] He graduated from Florida State University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary sciences, and from the William & Mary Law School in 2007 with a Juris Doctor. Luis F. Deleon-Figueroa, 31, and Master Sgt. On August 30, 2016, Gaetz won the Republican primary with 35.7 percent of the vote to Greg Evers's 21.5 percent and Cris Dosev's 20.6 percent, along with five other candidates. The 'Green Real Deal' is a resolution intended to serve as a response . [63][64] Gaetz initially defended his tweet, saying it was part of "witness testing, not witness tampering" and "I don't threaten anybody." "[138][139] House Homeland Security Committee chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi wrote to the House sergeant-at-arms about Gaetz and others, requesting that he take action regarding their "unprecedented breach of security". Referring to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by extremist supporters of former President Donald Trump, Milley said: "I want to understand . The . Jose J. Gonzalez, 35, were killed on Aug. 21, during combat operations in Faryab Province in northern Afghanistan. The district includes portions of Walton County and all of Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties. Miller is a former Green Beret. [82], In late February 2021, Gaetz and a dozen other Republican House members skipped votes and enlisted others to vote for them, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "When I . In addition to denying the allegations about his relationship with a 17-year-old girl, Gaetz denied a previously unreported claim that he had been photographed "with child prostitutes", and said that a friend of his (whom Carlson had supposedly met) had been urged by the FBI to claim Gaetz was "involved in some pay-for-play scheme". Reactions: pioneerlion83 , RoyalT12 , Osprey Lion and 2 others Gaetz claimed he heard those sentiments "most frequently from units that are majority minority." At this point, Army Gen. Mark Milley tried to offer his view, but was rudely cut-off by Gaetz. [81][82] Of the television studio, Gaetz said that the company received $100 per month from his office, an amount not reported in his congressional spending records, and also charged television networks each time a network connected to the studio. Matt Gaetz could see charges brought against him by federal prosecutors in July, a report says. [94] Observers have described his views as far right. "[133], During Mueller's testimony to two congressional committees on July 24, 2019, Gaetz told him, "if Russians were lying to Christopher Steele to undermine our confidence in our newly elected president, that would be precisely in your purview because you stated in your opening that the organizing principle was to fully and thoroughly investigate Russian interference. [153] In April 2017, the Center for American Progress and Vice Media said Gaetz was a climate change denier, citing his 2016 statements. Representative Matt Gaetz called out Google for censoring conservative news sites like the Gateway Pundit, Daily Caller, Breitbart, Western Journal and the American Spectator. "[208] In January 2018, Gaetz defended a statement by Trump that reportedly said Haiti and African nations were "shithole" countries, saying that Haiti was covered by "sheet metal and garbage" and in "disgusting" condition. [256] Gaetz sent Axios screenshots of text messages, emails and documents outlining the alleged extortion scheme, which he asserted was being run by David McGee,[257] a former federal prosecutor who has been a private attorney since 2005[258] and has represented the Levinson family. He claimed that the decision was an example of "judicial activism" that posed "a threat to our democracy". . In several commercials during his 2016 congressional campaign, Gaetz promised to "kill Muslim terrorists and build the wall". Gaetz's grandfather, Jerry Gaetz, was the mayor of Rugby, North Dakota, and a candidate for lieutenant governor of North Dakota at the 1964 North Dakota Republican Party state convention, where he died of a heart attack. [11], Gaetz's father represented parts of Northwest Florida as a member of the Florida State Senate from 2006 to 2016, and was Senate president from 2012 to 2014. [207] Upon announcing his run for Congress in 2016, he said that illegal immigrants were "sucking us dry. [147] In September 2022, he called impeaching Biden a "priority". [124], In November 2017, Gaetz introduced a congressional resolution calling for Robert Mueller to recuse himself as special counsel because of what were said to be conflicts of interest. [159], In 2019, Gaetz introduced the bipartisan Super Pollutants Act, which aimed to slow climate change by regulating greenhouses gases, especially black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons, and methane. "[54][55] As a consequence of the controversy the speakers had generated, their appearance at a conference site at Laguna Hills, in Orange County, California, was canceled. Matt Gaetz's stupid question about "teaching critical race theory at military academies" is completely outgunned by simple statements of fact from a US General, whose FACT-BASED remarks immediately went viral. [48][49], After the 2020 State of the Union Address, Gaetz filed an ethics complaint against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, claiming she had committed a "flagrant violation of decorum" and perhaps broken the law by ripping up her copy of the speech. [79], In July 2020, Politico reported that its investigation had found expenditures by Gaetz that appeared to violate the House ethics rules: spending tens of thousands of dollars for a speech-writing consultant and having a private company install a television studio in his father's home in Niceville, Florida, which Gaetz uses when he appears on television. [125] He also asked for a special counsel investigation into the Federal Bureau of Investigation's handling of the Hillary Clinton email controversy, undue interference by U.S. attorney general Loretta Lynch in the investigation, and the Russian state corporation Rosatom's acquisition of Uranium One during Mueller's time as FBI director. [272] That evening, Representative Adam Kinzinger tweeted that Gaetz should resign, becoming the first congressional Republican to make such a call. READ BIOGRAPHY HOW CAN I HELP YOU? After Rep. Matt Gaetz accused a Florida lawyer of a $25 million extortion scheme to make sex trafficking allegations disappear, . [4][5][6], Gaetz grew up near Fort Walton Beach, and graduated from Niceville High School. The conversation was reported in April 2022. A field officer for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles declared there was no evidence that Gaetz refused a breathalyzer test, despite the arresting police officer having documented it in an affidavit and the arrest report and Gaetz's own attorney also having documented it. This isn't the first time Gaetz has exercised poor judgement in the sorts of photographs he poses for. Gaetz, a Florida representative, is embroiled in investigations into an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old that may have violated sex trafficking laws. McGee reportedly met with Don Gaetz before Alford did,[259][261] but apparently did not discuss a presidential pardon, which Alford later admitted to the FBI that he had lied about his ability to arrange. [228] Also on March 30, he tweeted that he and his family were "victims of an organized criminal extortion involving a former DOJ official seeking $25 million". [145] Gaetz voted against the second impeachment of Donald Trump. The Pentagon has identified the two U.S. Army Green Berets killed on Wednesday during combat operations in northern Afghanistan. Tour Request Flag Request Internship Application Casework Request Military Academies Veterans History Project [114] Aaron Blake of The Washington Post called him one of Congress' "most controversial members", and one who has "unabashedly aligned himself with Trump on basically all things. In June 2021, Gaetz introduced the Digital Health Pass Prevention Act (DHPPA) with the support of representatives Louie Gohmert and Lance Gooden. [105], In November 2019, Gaetz was one of only two Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee to vote for the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which among other reforms would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act. "[96], Gaetz has introduced legislation to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. In both, he criticizes former House Speaker Paul Ryan for joining the board of Fox News's parent company and blames him for canceling Lou Dobbs Tonight. [189], On April 14, Gaetz said the Wuhan Institute of Virology "birthed a monster", a reference to the theory that COVID-19 was leaked out of a Chinese research lab. HOW CAN I HELP YOU? It's All Part of the Plan", "Local feelings on same-sex marriage ruling mixed", Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, "Roll Call 513 | Bill Number: H. R. 8404", "House passes antitrust bill that hikes M&A fees as larger efforts targeting tech have stalled", "H.R. [185] Several journalists characterized the decision as a stunt. [72] The Florida Bar opened an investigation into Gaetz for the tweet,[73][74] as did the House Ethics Committee. Murphy also said state officials were investigating whether the event violated the state's COVID-19 regulations. [85][86], In the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans regained a narrow House majority. She allegedly . Feb 24. [90], Gaetz has self-identified as a "libertarian populist". The event opened with Rep. Jody Hice, who is . Matthew Louis Gaetz II was born on May 7, 1982, in Hollywood, Florida, to Victoria (ne Quertermous) and Don Gaetz, who later became a prominent local politician. [277][278] Later in June, ABC News reported that the investigation had engulfed many in the Central Florida political scene and that prosecutors could decide whether to bring charges against Gaetz as early as July. Camila DeChalus and Sonam Sheth. Gaetz's attorney also claimed that an unnamed witness who knew Gaetz "observed no indication of impairment". [58][59][60] Gaetz apologized to the family. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks during a news conference to announce the 'Green Real Deal' on April 3, 2019 in Washington, DC. Investigators were reportedly exploring whether the escorts were sexually trafficked for Gaetz and whether Gaetz accepted paid escorts in exchange for political access or legislative favors for Pirozzolo, who at the time chaired the board of the Medical Marijuana Physicians Association. He wrote, "If Democrats want to defund the police, they should start with the FBI. [279] In August, ABC News reported that Greenberg had "provided investigators with years of Venmo and Cash App transactions and thousands of photos and videos, as well as access to personal social media accounts." "[160], In 2021, Gaetz was one of 14 House Republicans to vote against a measure condemning the Myanmar coup d'tat that overwhelmingly passed, for reasons reported to be unclear. Mark Hertling, the commander of US forces in Europe and who oversaw the 2007-2008 "surge" in Iraq, challenged Congress Matt Gaetz after he derided a top US general for suggesting that teaching the . In 2019, Gaetz was one of 60 representatives to vote against condemning Trump's withdrawal from Syria. "[152], In 2016, Gaetz acknowledged global warming but said he disagrees with the scientific consensus on climate change that human activity is the primary cause. Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz are both members of the United States House of Representatives. Adds Two Top Prosecutors to Matt Gaetz Case", "Judge Approves Plea Deal, Sets Sentencing Date for Matt Gaetz Associate in Child Sex Trafficking Case", "Gaetz 'wingman' granted another sentencing delay", "Gaetz ally Joel Greenberg is giving investigators new information, prosecutors say", "Representative Matt Gaetz's ex-girlfriend granted immunity in sex trafficking probe", "Exclusive: Attorney for Gaetz's ex-girlfriend says prosecutors didn't have credible evidence to charge", "Matt Gaetz's ex-girlfriend testifies to grand jury in sex trafficking probe", "Witness Can Confirm Matt Gaetz Was Told He Had Sex With a Minor", "Florida radio host cooperates in federal investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz, attorney tells CNN", "A witness corroborated the claim that Rep. Matt Gaetz was told in 2017 he'd had sex with a minor, report says", Former Gaetz Confidant Is Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison, "Matt Gaetz describes himself as 'single step-parent' to Nestor Galban", "Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz reveals he lives with a 19-year-old Cuban immigrant whom he calls his son", "Republican Matt Gaetz and son, Nestor, appear together on Fox News", "Rep. Matt Gaetz reveals adopted 19-year-old Cuban son Nestor on Twitter", "Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is engaged to Ginger Luckey", "Who is Rep. Matt Gaetz's fiance? [84], In August 2022, Gaetz criticized President Joe Biden for forgiving up to $10,000 of student loan debt for eligible borrowers. [15], On September 25, 2016, following the death of Miami Marlins pitcher Jos Fernndez, Gaetz criticized the athletes protesting during the national anthem in a tweet. matt gaetz military green beret. [146] Later that month, Gaetz co-sponsored a resolution by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to impeach President Biden. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 until 2016, and received national attention for defending Florida's controversial "stand-your-ground law". [226] The charges against Gaetz were dismissed. Michael George Glen Waltz (born January 31, 1974) is an American politician and United States Army officer serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 6th congressional district.A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 2018 and succeeded Ron DeSantis, who went on to be elected the 46th governor of Florida in 2018. Joel Valdez, a senior communications aide to Gaetz, posted a video on Parler hours before the storming of the Capitol with the caption "From the top of the Capitol office buildings, WE HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR! Gaetz called the label a "badge of honor", accused Twitter of enabling Antifa, and again said that "[o]ur government should hunt [Antifa] down". Though a financial disclosure form Gaetz filed in 2016 showed a net worth of $388,000, he donated $200,000 of his own money to his congressional campaign. He was reelected unopposed in 2012[21] and 2014. Testimony from a former White House aide is the first indication that he sought a pardon for his own exposure related to the investigation. [273][274], On April 9, 2021, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into allegations that Gaetz "may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift". [219] He also persuaded his father, in the Florida State Senate, to support the repeal. [108] Gaetz has said he has had multiple conversations with President Trump about cannabis policy. The Villages in Florida - one of the biggest retirement communities in the world - is known as a place for fresh starts and new beginnings.. [121][122][120] The Times also reported that aides had told Trump of the request. Right-wing Republicans like Representatives Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are making the case that the post-Trump version of their party will double down on the former president's most . "[134], In October 2019, Gaetz organized a "storming" of a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility on Capitol Hill by about two dozen Republican congressmen, including House minority whip Steve Scalise, in an effort to sit in on and hear the deposition of a Pentagon official during the impeachment inquiry against Trump. He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. Greene has been publicly harassing people she opposes for years. [18] In the special general election, Gaetz defeated Democratic nominee Jan Fernald with 66 percent of the vote. [234] The same day, The New York Times reported the Justice Department's investigation of Gaetz. [228][248] This allegedly began on March 16, with a text message to his father demanding money in exchange for making sex trafficking allegations "go away". [186][187][188] A few days later, on March 9, Gaetz's office reported that he had been in contact with a Conservative Political Action Conference attendee who tested positive for COVID-19. [ 96 ], Gaetz defeated Democratic nominee Jan Fernald with 66 percent of the vote run! A stunt Democrats want to defund the police, they should start with the.. Related to the investigation Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is matt gaetz a former green beret impeach President Biden under the Controlled Act! Operations in northern Afghanistan and Santa Rosa counties Hice, who is Deal! Taylor Greene to impeach President Biden ] Gaetz voted against the second impeachment of Donald Trump which prohibits trafficking. Northern Afghanistan and the House Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee the! 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