The latest member to join America’s hall of shame is Florida’s Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz. The congressman hails from one of Florida’s prominent families. He is the son of former state Senator Don Gaetz. The outspoken young congressman was described as brash by former President Trump’s most hated news network, CNN. However, the congressman was also Trump’s knight in shining armor as he had Trump’s back when the Democrats were impeaching the former President.
Congressman Gaetz’s support for Trump extended beyond words; he would phone Trump in the oval office and offer his moral support, as partly demonstrated by the HBO documentary the Swamp. The Florida congressman with his like-minded party members also stormed impeachment proceedings to demand transparency.
The Swamp (2020)
The Florida congressman is facing a federal investigation into his alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old. The same report also alleges that the congressman paid for her to travel with him, violating federal sex trafficking laws. The congressman also, in a statement posted on his Twitter handle, said, “Over the past several weeks, my family and I have been victims of organized criminal extortion involving a former DOJ official seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name. We have been cooperating with federal authorities in this matter…” In the same statement, the congressman claimed that his father had been wearing a “wire in the direction of the FBI to catch these criminals.”
If the Twitter statement was his best hope to dissuade people’s suspicions, I am afraid that he created more confusion than the clarity he intended to explain his role and the extent of his involvement in the alleged sexual relationship between him and the minor.
The congressman’s Twitter rant also indicates that Gaetz senior wanted to entrap whomever the wiretap was intended for. However, the simple and most likely explanation is that the congressman is indeed caught up in a ridiculous extortion plot. The Washington Post reports that a couple of grifters approached Gaetz senior in a bid to extort him as they claimed they had pictures of junior with minors; they asked Gaetz senior for money to fund their efforts to locate FBI agent Robert Levinson, the longest-held hostage American in Iran.
Politics and controversies go hand in hand, though of late, American politicians have been plagued with sexual accusations. While Congressman Gaetz is the latest politician to join the hall of shame, perhaps it is about time both parties forget about partisan politics and collectively oppose and condemn those accused of sexual misconducts and not simply whitewash as has been the case. Both the former President and the incumbent make an excellent example of sexual allegations that ended up with zero consequences.
Meghan McCain, a conservative columnist, has recently come to condemn Congressman Gaetz for his “disgusting behavior,” saying,
“Any moron can get elected to Congress. Some of the dumbest people in the history of American history are in Congress.” She went on to say that there had “always been weird rumors about Matt Gaetz on Capitol Hill” and that he’s “always had a weird reputation.”
She also ripped him to shreds for alleged previous offenses of Gaetz’s sharing photos and videos of women he claimed he had slept with. Sources claimed that Gaetz did this because it was a “point of pride.”
While I disagree that people should not play judge and jury before anyone has had their day in court, the theme of American politicians and sexual allegations had been one that has been dominating news headlines. The only problem is that that’s all they had ever been, just headlines. Trump and Biden got away with it, and considering the way things are going, Cuomo and Gaetz may get away with it.
Sexual allegations against sitting politicians should never be tolerated. They should at least be temporarily resigned until investigations are completed. In Matt Gaetz’s case, he is on record for being the only congressman to vote against human trafficking. The Florida congressman is also one of two congressmen to vote against revenge porn. Going by his voting history alone, is this the caliber of a politician that can be entrusted with the country’s affairs? What do you think?
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