‘He has totally denied the accusations’: Trump defends Gaetz, says congressman never asked him for pardon
Former President Donald Trump broke his silence on Rep. Matt Gaetz on Wednesday, offering a brief defense of the embattled congressman mired in a sex trafficking scandal.
Trump, in a three-line statement, insisted that the Florida lawmaker — and one of his most ardent allies — never asked him for preemptive pardon last year.
“It also must be remembered that he has totally denied the accusations against him,” Trump said in the statement.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Gaetz had asked the White House about the possibility of Trump pardoning him, as the Justice Department was probing a Gaetz associate in Florida.
Gaetz has denied making the request.
Trump, in the closing days of his presidency, issued more than 100 pardons to a checkered group of mostly political cronies, along with a handful of clemency orders to showcase his support of criminal justice reform.
Gaetz, a third-term Republican, is reportedly under investigation for having sex with an unidentified 17-year-old girl in exchange for covering her expenses, including travel and accommodation.
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws by maintaining a relationship with the teenager, according to reports.
The Gaetz probe grew out of a large federal inquiry into Joel Greenberg, a local Florida official who’s close with Gaetz and was indicted last year on a range of sex trafficking charges.
The GOP lawmaker contends he’s being falsely accused by a former DOJ official who’s trying to extort his family for millions of dollars.
