A noted Florida Republican politician used an op-ed to destroy Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for allegedly engaging the “shameful” crime of sexually trafficking underage girls.
Writing in The Pensacola News Journal, Mark Lombardo notes that his father gave money to Gaetz, only to see it used for defense attorneys the congressman had to hire in order to try and fend off allegations that he slept with underage girls and then paid them:
“Like all of Matt Gaetz’s donors, my dad trusted him to use that money to further conservative ideals. Had my father known that Gaetz would use his money to pay pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s attorney, he would have never given him a penny.”
Yes, Gaetz did indeed hire an attorney who once worked for Epstein, as The Washington Post reported in June of last year:
Rep. Matt Gaetz’s campaign paid $25,000 in June to a Manhattan criminal defense attorney who lists Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who killed himself in prison, as a notable client, according to a filing Thursday with the Federal Election Commission.
The June payment, for legal consulting, went to the law office of Marc Fernich, whose website says he specializes in “subtle, novel and creative arguments that other attorneys may miss.”
Lombardo goes on to explain that many voters feel betrayed by Gaetz:
“Gaetz broke my dad’s, and thousands of other donors’ trust when he used their money to pay the attorney most known for defending the world’s worst child-sex trafficker. To think that money my dad earned as a decorated combat veteran on the field of battle went to Gaetz’s sex-trafficking defense infuriates me and my family.
“In addition, knowing Gaetz raises money from elderly and working-class people under the deception of making America great and then uses that money for defending himself against charges that have nothing to do with his work in Congress or campaign, is shameful. It’s a total betrayal of trust.”
Perhaps most troubling of all, Lombardo says, is that Gaetz serves on the House Armed Services Committee, and his alleged illegal sexual predilections made him susceptible to blackmail by a hostile foreign government:
“An even bigger betrayal is that Gaetz put himself into a position that he needed a sex-trafficking defense attorney while serving on the Congressional Armed Services Committee.
“As a member of the Committee, Gaetz has access to Top Secret, classified information. Anyone who has worked in national security or for the military knows that engaging in prostitution, orgies, sex trafficking, and illegal drug use while holding a security clearance leaves them vulnerable to blackmail by foreign intelligence agents. This is especially true for senior government officials who partake in illicit activities on foreign soil – like Gaetz is reported to have done.”
Even though Gaetz is likely headed for re-election in November, his days in Congress are probably limited, as the Justice Department is expected to file charges against the congressman that, if he’s found guilty, could send him to prison for the rest of his life.