Government Targets Conservatives: The Matt Gaetz Witch Hunt
The federal government seems intent on launching witch hunts against conservatives—and anyone who opposes the left-wing establishment. Using legislative, judicial, and law enforcement bodies to target political rivals is a sad sign for the state of our country, especially when ordinary people are now in the crosshairs. Just within the past month, it was revealed that the FBI was targeting traditional Catholics because of their beliefs for investigation.
Another case study in this ongoing harassment of conservatives involves Congressman Matt Gaetz, who has been under an extended investigation. Lawyers for Matt Gaetz recently revealed that the Department of Justice has concluded its investigation into the congressman and will not be charging him with a crime.
“We have just spoken with the DOJ and have been informed that they have concluded their investigation into Congressman Gaetz and allegations related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice and they have determined not to bring any charges against him,” said Gaetz’s lawyers Isabelle Kirshner and Marc Mukasey in a statement to CNBC.
Gaetz’s office issued a similar statement: “The Department of Justice has confirmed to Congressman Gaetz’s attorneys that their investigation has concluded and that he will not be charged with any crimes.”
The story of Gaetz’s legal woes is a strange one, involving political intrigue, sex trafficking, extortion, and intelligence agencies.
In October 2019, Joel Greenberg, a former associate of Gaetz, was running for reelection as Seminole County’s incumbent tax collector. One of his challengers, a local music teacher named Brian Beute, found himself accused of engaging in sexual relations with an underage student.
A letter, purportedly written by the student, arrived at the school. In it were what appeared to be Facebook messages between Beute and the student in question. “Please remember to keep this a secret,” Beute allegedly wrote. “I could go to jail.”
Investigators quickly deduced that Beute was not, in fact, a sexual predator and that the letter was a fabrication. Eventually, Greenberg would be implicated as the origin of the smear.
While investigating Greenberg, authorities discovered compromising information on his devices. Greenberg faced 33 federal charges and wound up pleading guilty to six of them: sex trafficking of a child, illegally producing a false identification document, aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, stalking, and conspiracy.
That’s a serious list of charges. And to think, had Greenberg not foolishly attempted to smear a rival, his wrongdoings might not have come to light.
The investigation into Greenberg led the authorities to look into Gaetz as well. After Greenberg was charged with dozens of crimes, he flipped and began to cooperate with authorities, which apparently included providing information on Gaetz. “I am sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today,” said Greenberg’s attorney shortly after the disgraced tax collector was charged.
Authorities sought to determine whether Gaetz solicited prostitutes and, if so, whether he paid them to cross state lines for sex, which qualifies as sex trafficking. They also investigated whether Gaetz was sexually involved with a 17-year-old girl.
Of course, the establishment media was standing by to amplify the accusations against an embattled Gaetz. The Daily Beast published a hit piece in April 2021 which insinuated that Gaetz paid Greenberg for access to young women using the app Venmo. Although the author of the piece is careful not to accuse Gaetz of committing a crime, the insinuation is there nonetheless.
It’s also worth noting that, during Gaetz’s ordeal, an extortion attempt was made against his father. Stephen Alford, a Florida businessman with prior fraud convictions, told Don Gaetz that for $25 million he could make Matt Gaetz’s legal problems disappear—via a pardon from Joe Biden. Alford later pled guilty of extortion and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Curiously, Matt Gaetz did not believe Alford was acting alone. “He had support and coordination with people who have deep ties to the United States federal government,” said the congressman after Alford was charged. And given that Alford apparently wanted the $25 million to rescue Robert Levinson, an FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 during a CIA mission, Gaetz’s belief that shadowy government forces were involved isn’t exactly far-fetched.
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Gaetz was cleared of all wrongdoing. But that’s hardly consolation to the Gaetz family, who were forced to endure a legal and public relations nightmare for years.
I, for one, am grateful that Gaetz has been exonerated. At no point in time was there so much as a shred of evidence to prove his guilt. The DOJ’s investigation into Representative Matt Gaetz was nothing more than a political witch hunt against a staunchly conservative lawmaker.
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Image credit: Flick-Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0