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NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz sprung onto the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference and took a victory lap after federal authorities recently informed him that he would not be charged in a sex trafficking investigation.
“If you don’t mind me saying so, I think vindication looks pretty good on me!” Gaetz said to a cheering crowd.
Minutes later, Gaetz, now serving on the select committee investigating the so-called weaponization of the federal government, suggested eliminating federal investigative agencies.
“I don’t care if it takes every second of our time and every ounce of our energy, we either get this government back on our side or we defund, get rid of, abolish the FBI CDC, ATF,” Gaetz said to applause.
Gaetz had been under investigation for underage sex trafficking allegations that looked at his role in a larger scheme that led to the sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl.
The core of that investigation included testimony from a former Gaetz associate, Joel Greenberg. Greenberg previously pleaded guilty to six charges, including sex trafficking of a minor, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official, and agreed to cooperate with federal investigators as part of his plea agreement.
