Tag: sex trafficking

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Crime GOP Sex Scandals

Immunity Deal For Key Female Witness Means Matt Gaetz’s Goose Is Cooked: Report

The single most important witness in the case against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has reached an immunity deal with federal prosecutors and agreed to testify against him, according to a report from NBC News, and that’s the surest sign yet the Florida congressman is indeed going to be indicted on charges of sexually trafficking underage girls, a crime which could potentially send Gaetz to prison for the rest of his life.

Recently, Gaetz’s former girlfriend testified before a federal grand jury, a move that one former prosecutor called “diabolical but brilliant.”

NBC senior national reporter Marc Caputo says that the latest testimony and plea deal suggests that the chances of Gaetz being indicted are significantly greater than they were a week ago:

“When this broke, the ex-girlfriend was talking to another woman who was talking to prosecutors that felt the woman may have recorded the call and may have patched in Matt Gaetz at the time and prosecutors suspect he tried to elicit or entice or suborn obstruction of justice and his ex-girlfriend may have participated in that. That was the basis of her getting an immunity deal; ‘don’t charge me for this and I’ll tell you the things you want to know.'”

Caputo then added:

“Exactly what she told them is key but what’s important to note here is that she’s an important bridge that unlocks the case or unstalls it. It was stuck in neutral. Now the case is clearly going forward. I can’t promise he’s going to be indicted but the chances are higher.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uwTP7ohxQs&feature=emb_logo
 

The fact that the woman is Gaetz’s former paramour and not his wife is also significant, according to MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos:

There are exactly zero “girlfriend” testimonial privileges. It doesn’t matter if the girlfriend has lived with the boyfriend for years. It doesn’t matter if they have kids together. A girlfriend is not a wife — but she is a potential gold mine for prosecutors. They have a witness who often knows the target as well as a spouse would, but who can be questioned, cajoled and subpoenaed without worrying about any of those pesky privilege barriers.

Gaetz was already in BIG trouble, but now he’s officially toast.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump

Ghislaine Maxwell’s Sexual Trafficking Trial Begins Monday – That’s Bad News For Donald Trump

 


On Monday in a Manhattan federal court, the trial of Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell, will begin with opening arguments in what could wind up giving the public a much better idea what sort of sordid underworld Epstein and his male friends — including former President Donald Trump — were part of, including allegations of sexually abusing and trafficking girls as young as 14.

According to NPR, the charges against Maxwell are indeed serious:

Maxwell has been in jail since her arrest in July 2020, when she was charged with enticing a minor to travel to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit both of those offenses, and perjury in connection with a sworn deposition.

If found guilty, Maxwell could wind up spending decades behind bars.

While testimony will likely focus on how Maxwell selected and groomed underage girls for Epstein and his friends to abuse, of special interest will be the book of contacts she kept over the years when she allegedly helped set up Epstein’s depraved assignations:

Prosecutors have said they will be using some parts of Maxwell’s book of contacts, which has captured the imaginations of followers of this case. Maxwell and Epstein moved in wealthy and famous circles, and there has been much speculation over whether some of their acquaintances participated in the alleged exploitation of young girls.

 

Among the men who were reportedly friends with Epstein and may have participated in the abuse of young girls is a list that reads like a who’s who of the rich and famous, including Trump, former President Bill Clinton, and Prince Andrew of the British royal family. If prosecutors prove that any of those friends did indeed take part in the sexual assault and trafficking of underage girls, it could lead to new charges against any and all of them, which would prove to be especially worrisome for Trump, who is already facing legal investigations on multiple fronts and who says he has plans to run for president once again in 2024.

The most disturbing allegation ever made against Trump came from a girl who claimed he and Epstein repeatedly raped her when she was only 13:

Court documents spell out the alleged attack:

Jane Doe is an unnamed plaintiff, who has also gone by “Katie Johnson” in legal papers. She claims she was repeatedly raped by Trump and Jeffery Epstein at Epstein’s New York City apartment in 1994, when she was 13 years old. Shortly after this sexual assault by the Defendant, Jeffrey E. Epstein, on the Plaintiff, Katie Johnson, Plaintiff Johnson was still present while the two Defendants were arguing over who would be the one to take Plaintiff Johnson’s virginity. The Defendant, Donald J. Trump, was clearly heard referring to Defendant, Jeffrey E. Epstein, as a ‘Jew Bastard’ as he yelled at Defendant Epstein that clearly, he, Defendant Trump, should be the lucky one to ‘pop the cherry’ of Plaintiff Johnson.”

Johnson later withdrew her lawsuit, saying she he had been threatened and feared for her life if she continued:

Trump allegedly threatened to harm or kill Johnson and her family if she ever told anyone. Johnson said Trump told her he could make them “disappear” like Maria — a 12-year-old girl Johnson says Trump also forced her to have sexual contact with, and whom Johnson hadn’t seen since that encounter.

Does Maxwell have any information about Trump and the alleged rape of Katie Johnson? That could wind up coming out at her trial, and it remains a possibility that Maxwell may agree to cooperate with prosecutors once she sees the evidence against her.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump sits and waits to see if his name enters the public record as Maxwell faces the bar of justice.

Categories
Congress Crime Sex Scandals

Florida Bar Suspends Matt Gaetz From Practicing Law

 

The bad news just keeps rolling in for embattled Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who is reportedly under investigation for sexually trafficking underage girls.

The Daily Beast reports that the Florida Bar Association has suspended Gatez from practicing law in his home state:

As of Wednesday, Gaetz had not paid the fees he owes to The Florida Bar, which regulates lawyers there, prompting the organization to deem him “delinquent” and “not eligible to practice law in Florida.”

As you might expect, rather than be forthright about not paying the required money, Joel Valdez, a spokesperson for Gaetz tried to spin the latest humiliation for the congressman:

“Congressman Gaetz is no longer actively engaged in the practice of law. He is focused on representing his constituents in Congress, not the courtroom.”

However, attorneys who spoke to Daily Beast reporter Jose Pagliery said that sounds like a load of bull:

That explanation may sound reasonable enough. But four attorneys who spoke to The Daily Beast noted that it is extremely rare for lawyers to do this. Instead, attorneys taking a step back from their legal duties normally pay a smaller $175 fee to remain “inactive” but still a “member in good standing.

“He clearly doesn’t take his law license very seriously when he doesn’t take the time to pay the $265 dues,” said Daniel Uhlfelder, a Santa Rosa Beach attorney who lives in Gaetz’s district. “He’s not a serious lawyer. He’s not a serious congressman. He’s not a serious person. This is one small but symbolic example of that.”

The real reason Gaetz isn’t paying his dues to the Bar Association is probably so he can avoid having his law license revoked as more evidence continues to come to light regarding his alleged sexual misconduct with minors, according to Cris Dosev, a real estate developer who ran against Gaetz in the GOP primary last year:

“It might be a calculated move. I think he’s preemptively trying to remove a level of scrutiny from the Bar.”

This has been the proverbial “week from hell” for Gaetz, with his former “wingman,” Seminole County, Florida, tax collector Joel Greenberg receiving a four month delay in his sentencing as he continues to cooperate with federal prosecutors as they investigate whether or not the congressman sexually exploited underage girls.

If convicted of sexually trafficking minors across state lines, Gaetz could be sentenced to life in prison.

Categories
Congress Social Media Uncategorized WTF?!

Matt Gaetz Creeps Out The Internet By Posting A Photo On Twitter Of His Fiancé Asleep

What in the hell is wrong with Matt Gaetz?

The Florida Republican is already under investigation for allegedly carrying an underage girl across state lines and paying her to have sex with him, yet he continues to post things on social media that are both ill-advised and downright creepy.

For example, the congressman thought he’d share with the entire internet a photo of his fiancé, Ginger Luckey, asleep next to him:

Is that bizarre, or what? First of all, he didn’t get her consent to take or post the photo, and second, why in the hell would anyone put that on Twitter for the world to see?

It didn’t take long before Gaetz got slapped down for what he’d done:

 

Categories
Congress Crime GOP Sex Scandals

Gaetz Abruptly Ends Press Conference As Reporter Asks Him: ‘Are You A Pedophile?’

On Tuesday, as the first day of hearings began for the House Select Committee on January 6, a group of four Republican lawmakers decided they’d go to the Department of Justice building and protest the treatment of people arrested following the Capitol insurrection, whom they claim are “political prisoners.”

In attendance were Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Matt Gaetz (FL), Louie Gohmert (Texas), and Paul Gosar (AZ), The Hill reports:

“(Greene, Gaetz, Gohmert, and Gosar) were holding a news conference outside the DOJ to protest the treatment of individuals arrested in connection to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, when counterprotesters arrived on the scene.

“One protester repeatedly blew a whistle during the event, and other demonstrators were holding signs that read ‘Jan 6th was an inside job, vets for democrats’ and ‘Traitors + Rapists: Sit Down,’ the latter likely referring to Gaetz, who is under investigation for an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.”

The counterprotests were so loud and raucous that at one point a man announced:

“The left is interrupting the press conference, we need to end it.”

As the crowd was dispersing, a reporter repeatedly asked Gaetz:

“Are you a pedophile?”

https://twitter.com/ZTPetrizzo/status/1420069248781668364?s=20

Gaetz couldn’t walk fast enough to get away from the scene, and the question he was being asked came just hours after his future sister-in-law, Roxanne Luckey, posted a series of videos on TikTok in which she lambasted the Florida congressman, calling him “a literal pedophile.”

Gaetz is currently under federal investigation for allegedly being sexually active with an underage girl he trafficked across state lines, a crime which can carry a penalty of life in prison.

Gaetz, Greene, Gohmert, and Gosar are all trying their best to deflect attention from the fact that many in their party supported and continue to support the domestic terrorists who stormed the Capitol earlier this year. But all the distractions in the world won’t be able to paper over the fact that the current GOP is under the thrall of a monster named Trump and believes violence is more valuable than democracy.