Representative Matt Gaetz – who is facing a federal sex trafficking investigation, accusations that he showed lawmakers photos and videos of naked women he claimed to have slept with and an alleged extortion plan – was hit with more bad public relations on Friday. market.
Luke Ball, communications director for Gaetz (R-Fla.), Is resigning, announced the congressman’s office before the weekend.
“Congressman Matt Gaetz and Luke Ball’s office agreed it would be better to split up,” said a joint statement. “We thank him for his time in our office and wish him the best in the future.”
Ball erased the mention of Gaetz, 38, from his biography on Twitter at noon on Thursday.
The Florida lawmaker found himself involved in a considerable amount of controversy last week.
On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that the congressman was investigating whether he slept with a 17-year-old girl.
The investigation, the Times reported, resulted from an investigation into Joel Greenberg, a Gaetz ally accused last summer of sex trafficking – among other things.
Gaetz vehemently denied the charges, instead claiming on Fox News “Tucker Carlson Tonight” later that night that his family was the victim of a $ 25 million extortion plan at the hands of a former Justice Department employee.
That employee, David McGee, a former federal prosecutor in Florida who is now working at the Beggs & Lane law firm, denies the extortion charges.
Gaetz also claimed that the existence of the DOJ investigation was leaked to the media in an effort to prevent the FBI’s investigation into the alleged extortion plan.
The Republican Congressman, son of Don Gaetz, a prominent Florida ex-politician, told a stunned Carlson that his father had started using a telegram to help the FBI in that alleged extortion investigation.
Veteran Gaetz, 73, confirmed his son’s report of the telegram to Politico in an interview on Wednesday, saying he used it during a meeting with McGee in early March.
The former Florida Senate president said he expressed reservations to authorities about his participation, noting that the operation would require him to be registered by making false statements.
“I told the FBI, ‘I’m willing to listen and be cooperative,’ but I was asked to say things that are not true to elicit an admission,” the retired Florida lawmaker told the agency, without specifying the nature of these “things. “.
As controversy – and confusion – over the bombing accusations escalated, young Gaetz was struck with another allegation on Thursday.
Several sources told CNN that the congressman in trouble showed pictures of naked women with whom he claimed to have sex with fellow lawmakers, bragging about his achievements.
While on the floor of the House, Gaetz reportedly displayed images of women on his phone and talked about having sex with them.
A video showed a naked woman with a hula hoop, a source told the network.
CNN’s claim does not appear to be in any way related to the DOJ investigation.
As part of that investigation, the FBI allegedly questioned several women who claim to have been paid to sleep with Gaetz and his friends in drug-driven encounters.
The interviews were conducted as part of the federal investigation, which focuses on Gaetz’s alleged links to several women who were recruited online for sex and paid for their services, the New York Times reported.
A Gaetz representative was not immediately found by The Post for comment.