US media point out that the investigation in the ethics committee is the first official sign that the party leaders in the US are willing to take part in the scandal, which has made headlines.
– The fact that the committee investigates these accusations, and publishes the findings, will not in itself mean that an abuse has been committed, the ethics committee says in a statement.
Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, is accused of having sex with minors and crossing a state border with a minor in exchange for payment. This qualifies as human trafficking under US law, and usually carries severe prison sentences.
In addition, several of Gaetz’s colleagues in Congress have accused the Republican of showing nude photos and videos of women while at work. This will also be investigated by the committee.
Blame it on blackmail
The case has been under investigation by the Ministry of Justice for several months, but first became known to the public a few weeks ago. Gaetz has always denied the charges, which he himself claims are part of a blackmail campaign against him and his family.
According to the Republican, a vengeful ex-employee of the Ministry of Justice wants to press Gaetz for 25 million dollars, and the explanation has not helped to dampen the uproar surrounding the case.
After Congress announced that they would also investigate the case, Gaetz issued a new statement in which he once again denied the allegations.
“Once again, we want to emphasize that these allegations are completely false, and not a single person has been willing to come forward with names to make them more credible,” a spokesman for Gaetz told CNBC.
New development
The Ministry of Justice is investigating allegations that Gaetz has paid or given gifts to minors in exchange for sex, according to two sources in the Ministry of Justice who will not be named. This is part of a larger investigation that also targets a collaborator of Gaetz, a former local government official in Florida.
On Thursday, it became known that the official, Joel Greenberg, wants to cooperate with the authorities. This could potentially be bad news for Gaetz, should the allegations turn out to be true.
The ethics committee’s investigation has a broad starting point, and it will look at everything from the accusations of sexual offenses to corruption, says committee leader and Democrat Ted Deutsch and Republican Jackie Walorski in a statement.
Such investigations take place behind closed doors, and it is not expected that a conclusion will be reached until weeks or months later.
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