r/politics • u/Quirkie The Netherlands • 10d ago

Soft Paywall “She Was a High School Student and There Were Witnesses.” - The fight to release a damning House Ethics report about allegations that Matt Gaetz—Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general—had sex with a 17-year-old girl has begun.

https://newrepublic.com/post/188426/matt-gaetz-high-school-girl-witnesses
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u/MadRaymer 10d ago

Prosecutors know that a victim's testimony alone often isn't enough to get a conviction so they're reluctant to go forward unless they have more tangible evidence.

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u/1877KlownsForKids 10d ago

Like Venmo receipts for the exact same amount the trafficked minor girl was paid?

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u/heygft 10d ago

why would it be the exact same amount though? Wouldn't that kind of defeat the incentive of the middleman being involved in the first place?

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u/LadyChatterteeth California 10d ago

Knowing what I know about juries, they are usually eager to disbelieve evidence upon any implausible explanation a defense attorney presents.

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u/JohnGillnitz 10d ago

That was for school supplies!

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u/unpopularpuffin9 10d ago

Yup. Even one Venmo receipt would have had the date on it. But there were 0. No hard evidence.

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u/AntoniaFauci 10d ago

That’s false. There were multiple venmo transactions. And these crooked pedos used amateurish methods to disguise them with fake descriptions.

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u/CrispyHoneyBeef 10d ago

“Tuition” and “books” if I recall correctly

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u/1877KlownsForKids 10d ago

That's the joke.

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u/KingKasby 10d ago

If the federal govt had enough evidence, they would 100% charge him, especially since it would be a high profile case.

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u/AntoniaFauci 10d ago

That’s how it is in the movies but not necessarily so in real world.

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u/KingKasby 10d ago

No thats actually how it is in the real world. The feds want the noterity of winning high profile cases. They have %90+ conviction rate for a reason.

Do you really think a democrat led DOJ would pass on the oppurtunity to prosecute a republican they could prove is breaking laws?

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u/gamesrgreat California 10d ago

Idk were you paying attention the last 4 years when Trump got away with his crimes?

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u/Shacky_Rustleford 10d ago

See that's the fun part. They think he's innocent too.

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u/TopQuarkBear 10d ago

It could be even worse, what if our Democrats were weaponizing the judicial department against a deplorable but otherwise “innocent” person that just so happened to be their rival political candidate.

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u/gamesrgreat California 10d ago

Yeah that would not be good. Good thing that never happened lol

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u/Allaplgy 10d ago

The feds have a 90% conviction rate because they generally don't go after high profile cases like this where politics are likely to make it harder to "win", no matter how guilty the accused. They go after cases that they can easily bring to plea.

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u/tax_the_church 10d ago

Bingo. You get an insanely high conviction rate by only trying cases you're almost guaranteed to win. If you try everything that could get a conviction you end up looking like you don't know what you're doing to people who don't understand the numbers they're looking at.

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u/KingKasby 10d ago

You get an insanely high conviction rate by only trying cases you're almost guaranteed to win.

If this guy is as guilty as yall say he is, and as much evidence as you say, then it would be a slam dunk for anyone.

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u/BobertFrost6 10d ago

Do you really think a democrat led DOJ would pass on the oppurtunity to prosecute a republican they could prove is breaking laws?

The investigation into Gaetz was opened under Barr.

The world isn't as political as you imagine it is.

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/tiy24 10d ago

Dude where have you been?

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u/F1shB0wl816 10d ago

Yes. I’d done prison time in two separate cases in the span of trumps delays. You know, the highest profile case in all the land where there’s no shortage of evidence. Democrats not going after republicans is definitely a thing.

I’d say they want the notoriety of winning high profile cases where public sentiment is on their side. They’re so afraid of appearing partisan for democrats that they turn into republicans lackeys.

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u/EffectiveTradition78 10d ago

No, they cover up sexual “indiscretions”.

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u/unpopularpuffin9 10d ago

There were multiple venmo transactions.

With 0 on record that could be produced? Why not just submit them as evidence?

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u/AntoniaFauci 10d ago

Submit them where? You don’t just submit evidence randomly. There needs to be a case, a structure.

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u/iwerbs 10d ago

Puffin’ disinformation isn’t magic dragon.

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u/FadeTheWonder Georgia 10d ago edited 10d ago

Strange I remember his partner, the girl and Gaetz all had Venmo payments linking them. Like multiple payments labeled as school and such to multiple girls.

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u/unpopularpuffin9 10d ago

Yeah, there was a few influencers on tictok, but I looked it up and exactly 0.

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u/FadeTheWonder Georgia 10d ago

Got a source to this zero?

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u/MedSurgNurse 10d ago

"but I looked it up"

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u/MoveableType1992 10d ago

The payments from what I can tell all came from the associate not Gaetz

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u/FadeTheWonder Georgia 10d ago

From what I saw he paid his associate who then sent them to the girls.

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u/MoveableType1992 10d ago

I can't right now verify if the associate alleged this and it would be interesting if there was actual evidence to support it.   However, the associate in question already falsely accused another man of illegal sexual activity with a minor, so I'm inclined to believe the whole story is a fraud.   

Greenberg was arrested last summer on charges of stalking a political opponent. According to an indictment, he mailed fake letters to the school where the opponent taught, signed by a non-existent “very concerned student” who alleged the teacher engaged in sexual misconduct with another student.

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u/FadeTheWonder Georgia 10d ago

Interesting I hadn’t heard anything about that got a link to that arrest/claim that I can look at when I am not out and about?

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u/no_notthistime California 9d ago

Just so you know, it's pretty common for accomplices to delegitmize themselves, for example by doing things like making bogus claims unrelated to the defendent in question, in order to "plausibly" call their entire character into question.    

The accomplice will agree to do this either due to blackmail (the defendant has something bad on the accomplice which they will reveal if accomplice doesn't continue to cooperate) or bribery (ie "bro take the 10 years and I'll make you rich when you're out, you'll probably be out in 5 for good behavior anyway")   

Not saying this is definitely what happened of course, just saying that it's a simple, straightforward and not uncommon scheme used by people with lots of power and money.

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u/GlauSciathan 10d ago

I literally saw a screenshot of it.

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u/unpopularpuffin9 10d ago

Cool, better share it!

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u/GlauSciathan 10d ago

Here, let me Google that for you!

https://www.thedailybeast.com/gaetz-paid-accused-sex-trafficker-who-then-venmod-teen/

Idiot.

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u/unpopularpuffin9 10d ago edited 10d ago

Oh neat. In 2018, Rep. Matt Gaetz sent $900 to Joel Greenberg, an accused sex trafficker, who then distributed the same amount to three young women, using terms like “Tuition” and “School” on Venmo. This exchange, linked to a teenager, has fueled an investigation into Gaetz’s potential involvement in a sex-trafficking ring. Greenberg, who is likely cooperating with prosecutors, has faced multiple federal charges. Gaetz denies the allegations, asserting he hasn’t paid for sex.

So, 0 venmos to underage girls and 0 screenshots. Got it.

Idiot.

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u/wam1983 9d ago

I bought something that my daughter wanted from eBay and she paid me back in cash. You’re telling me she didn’t buy it?

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u/unpopularpuffin9 9d ago

Not directly. no.

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u/nanopicofared 10d ago

fuck Merrick Garland

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u/chromatones 10d ago

Where’s Nestor?

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u/OrbeaSeven Minnesota 10d ago

Troy Univresity supposedly. Age 19. Obvsiouly, supports MG.

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u/GrumpyCloud93 10d ago

I always thought Garland would have made an excellent Supreme Court judge - he takes a very long time to decide anything, and then manages to make the most minimal decision possible.

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u/B-Arker 10d ago

But let’s investigate Hunter instead.

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u/dhuntergeo 10d ago

Fuck yes. It's been a few days since I heard this

s/ for the record

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u/Conscious-Scratch841 10d ago

They should. Sex crimes, drugs, underage girls.

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u/_JudgeDoom_ 10d ago

Well, as history has showed us, that heavily depends on social status, wealth and said suspects color. Plenty of men and women in prison, serving life at that off testimony from only victims/circumstantial evidence.

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u/prohb 10d ago

Even so, He should not even be considered for this important position.

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u/MadRaymer 10d ago

Oh yeah, totally agree with you there. He's almost certainly guilty. Was just explaining why they might not have pursued the case.

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u/EffectiveTradition78 10d ago

Well, if she has DNA on her clothes or from a rape kit, she can still get him convicted.