Rep. Matt Gaetz won the Republican primary on Tuesday and is expected to win another term representing his deep red Panhandle district.
Gaetz defeated a challenge from a Vietnam War veteran and former FedEx executive.
According to The New York Times, the Justice Department is looking into whether Gaetz broke federal law by recruiting women online for sex and paying them at a young age. Gaetz denied paying a woman for sex and no indictments have been made public.
The arrest of a former tax collector on a sex-trafficking charge was linked to the new allegations.
Gaetz was rewarded with Trump's endorsement Saturday after using the exposure to burnish his pro-Donald Trump credentials.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he would fight the "Never-Ending Witch Hunts" from the Radical Left.
Gaetz is said to have asked Trump for a pardon for crimes he may have committed. Cassidy Hutchinson told the congressional panel that Gaetz had sought a "blanket pardon."
Despite the controversy, the congressman has not shied away from it. He was one of 19 House Republicans who voted against renewing the authorization of several anti-trafficking programs.
Be offended.Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)
Women who attend abortion rights rallies have been criticized by Gaetz. He said, "Be offended."
Gaetz has become a target for critics of both him and Trump. In a July interview with CNN, Short said that he would be surprised if Gaetz could vote in 2024.
It is more likely that he will be sentenced to prison for child sex traffickers. I was surprised that Florida law enforcement allowed him to speak to teenage conferences. Short said he was not worried about Gaetz.
The article was first published on HuffPost.
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