don gaetz says this is extorted ive. he goes to the fbi and he also goes to one of these guys and he asks about these guys. don gaetz says he wears a wire and david mcgee says i am not involved in anything like that. i just represent the levinson family. i was hoping to get help for them potentially but he has never truly confirmed they talked about the levinsons. the fbi is investigating that separately. the fbi is concerned about someone who would throw this, at the time, nonpublic allegation of sex trafficking in the gaetz's family face. sources tell us look, none of those folks seem to have an apparent connection to the case except they found out about it. in other words they are not going to gaetz on behalf of the 17-year-old alleged victim in the case and saying you need to pay this woman money to make the allegations go away. they are referencing almost bizarre subplot having to do with bob levinson. he is also presumed to be dead. host: thank you for taking us through all of this. matt zapotsky, national security

face of the thing, but i needed to raise a large amount of money in a short period of time, and don gaetzon who has that ability. >> gaetz says his father was wearing a wire. are you concerned about what he has on you on tape? >> i hope the father was wearing a wire. >> you hope he was wearing a wire. >> yes. >> were the federal authorities interested in your description of what was going on in terms of what you knew about the investigation? >> they did ask me what i knew, and i don't know anything about the investigation. everything i knew was based on rumor. >> what do you want people to know, if they are assessing the matt gaetz situation, and your name is coming up as a possible mitigating factor for him. what do you want people to know? >> as a possible mitigating factor for who? matt gaetz? >> maybe it's not so bad for matt gaetz. maybe these guys were out to get him. maybe that's as big a part of this as anything else. >> we weren't out to get matt gaetz. we were out to rescue bob levinson. >> there was no attempt to extort, no threat, no demand. >> no threats, noopposite. when i l

gaetz is the son of wealthy former florida senate president don gaetz whose connections and deep pockets helped his son get elected to the florida house and eventually to the united states congress in 2008 matt gaetz was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving while driving his dad's bmw. the charges were eventually dropped but the incident reinforced his local reputation as an entitled near do elas one local paper described him. mocking food stamp recipients and facing acswrags of racism for questioning the intelligence of two black lawmakers and then he came to washington and quickly became known as one of donald trump's staunchest defenders. with gaetz agregleefully trollig the former president's critics as a u.s. congressman gaetz brought an accused holocaust denier to the state of the union, suggested george soros was paying honduran kids to storm the u.s. border. when the father of a child murdered in the child parkland school shooting called gaetz a liar for having the gall to tie immigration to those school shootings gaetz responded by demanding the father be removed from the hear

they asked him about the meeting he had with don gaetz, what he said to don gaetz, what he was basingis claims on, whether or not he had any actual insider information about the doj investigation of matt gaetz's conduct with minors. so they got at the heart of the issue and my guess is they probably resolved any concerns that an extortion was actually taking place. >> now, look, he's a pro, he's an intel guy. but he betrayed no concern about any of my questions. and i asked him all the questions like three different times, trying to get him -- you know, just to see if he would change his demeanor. what is your sense that this isn't going to wind up being about kent but about another guy named joel greenberg who they really have right now, they've indicted him, they have him on charges, he's got an arraignment on a new set of charges on him on friday. he is in trouble for exactly what they're looking at gaetz for. >> yeah, no doubt. kent is a sideline to this story. i thought his answers to your questions seemed credible. he was consistent in his responses, it seemed pretty clear this

this guy is really something gaetz is the son of senate president don gaetz whose connections and deep pockets helped him get elected to the florida house and eventually to the united states congress in 2008, matt gaetz was arrested on the suspicion of drunk driving while driving his dad's b bmw. he was known as a entitled they're thee we will he mocked food stamp recipients and facing accusations of racism for questioning the intelligence two of black lawmakers then he came to washington and quickly became known as one of donald trump's staunchest defenders with gaetz gleefully trolling the critics and defending trump's comments including on this very show after he denigrated the entire country of haiti gaetz brought a holocaust denier to the state of the union, suggested that george soros was paying kids to storm the border and hired an aide tide to white nationalist ties a child shot in the park land school shooting called him a lighter for tying immigration to the school shootings gaetz responded by demanding the father be removed from the hearing. going back to his talking points

a chance to their enemies to recover, and the difference between don gaetz and matt gaetz, don would get toxic, he told me coat my words with honey, that way it makes them easier to swallow. matt gaetz doesn't live by that. there's a major difference between them. don gaetz prior to public service made a lot of money in the hospice industry. the family has deep pockets, on the political side you mentioned, matt gaetz has been fundraising for his legal defense. if he gets charged, if this goes to court, he is going to fight it and have a stable of well paid, very experienced attorneys whose job it is to raise enough reasonable doubt so that there's a hung jury or as we discussed in the last segment, or as you did, that there's acquittal. stay tuned, understand that the prosecutors understand that they want to have an indictment that sticks and would result in conviction. middle district of florida is not the most liberal of places, a place where someone of matt gaetz's political ilk would have sail yens with a potential jury pool. >> in fairness to the legal process, talking looking a

the president of the florida senate, a guy i know pretty well, the senator from northwest florida, don gaetz. >> reporter: and took on the nickname "baby gaetz" among locals, a nod to his father's early influence. >> he was in the statehouse. there was a cadre of young lawmakers at the time that got a lot of attention. it was a crowd that liked to stay out late and have fun. >> reporter: political observers say it was in the statehouse where gaetz started to showcase his flashy and effective political instincts. >> he would get on the floor of the statehouse and just speak in these spell binding monologues. >> reporter: it was then that gaetz latched onto a tool that would help amplify his voice. >> his approach on twitter definitely anticipated the trump era. >> reporter: in 2016, gaetz ran again, this time for a florida congressional seat, and won. >> hey, matt, how are you doing? >> this is my mother. >> reporter: and came to washington the next year. >> congressman matt gaetz, come on up, matt. a man i just watched last night on television. he was fantastic. >> reporter: he quickly cozie

the president of the florida senate, a guy i know pretty well, the senator from northwest florida, don gaetzook on the nickname baby gaetz among locals, a nod to his father's early influence. >> he's in the statehouse. there was a cadre of young lawmakers at the time that got a lot of attention. there was a crowd that liked to stay out late and, you know, have fun. >> reporter: political observers say it was in the statehouse where gaetz started to showcase his flashy and effective political instincts. >> he would get on the floor of the statehouse and just speak in these spellbinding monologues. >> reporter: it was then gaetz latched on to a tool to help amplify his voice. >> his approach on twitter definitely anticipated the trump era. >> reporter: in 2016 gaetz ran again, this time for a florida congressional seat, and won. >> matt, how are you doing? >> this is my mother. >> hey, mom! >> you just go right in the middle here. >> reporter: and came to washington the next year. >> congressman matt gaetz, come on up, matt. a man i just watched last night on television, he was fantastic. >> r

documents obtained by cnn show the alleged extortion involved a bizarre proposal to don gaetz to help, in exchange for money to fund a search for a kidnapped and presumed dead fbi agent in iran. the gaetz family is no stranger to the spotlight. with three generations of politicians. at the center, don gaetz. >> because of this governor, because of this speaker, now she'll be able to practice medicine in florida. >> reporter: a wealthy businessman with upwards of a $20 million fortune, made through a for-profit hospice company. >> jeb bush is the new florida. he is the new america. he is the new republican party. [ applause ] >> reporter: congressman gaetz and his father served in the florida statehouse together for six years. >> they were just a political dynasty, and they dominated that region. >> reporter: among locals, matt was nicknamed baby gaetz, a nod to his father's early influence. but political observers say his father's name and money have only been part of his success. >> matt gaetz says political gifts in this era of smash-mouth politics, that you can't ignore. i didn't n

don gaetz was elected tt state house, rising to become a power player in florida politics. >> he is the america. he is the new republican party. >> reporter: after graduating from william and mary law school, matt worked as a lawyer in florida for only a few years until the seat opened up in the florida state house. >> there is no cause in northwest florida more worth fighting for than strengthening our military mission. >> reporter: matt leveraged his family name to easily win his first campaign in a special election to become a state representative in 2010. >> i hope everybody is ready to cut some taxes today. >> reporter: he served in the state house alongside his father for six years. >> it is my privilege to introduce the president of the florida senate. a guy i know pretty well. the senator from northwest florida, don gaetz. >> reporter: and took on the name baby gaetz among locals. a nod to his father's early influence. >> he was in the state house. this was a cadre of young lawmakers at the time that got attention. there was a crowd that liked to stay out late and have fun. >> r

don gaetz was elected to the florida state house, rising to become a power player in florida politics. >> he is the new america. he is the new republican party. >> reporter: after graduating from william & mary law school in 2005, matt worked as a lawyer in florida for only a few years, until a seat opened up in the florida state house. >> there is no cause in northwest florida more worth fighting for than strengthening our military mission. >> reporter: matt leveraged his family name to easily win his first campaign, in a special election to become a state representative in 2010. >> i hope everyone is ready to cut some taxes today. >> reporter: he served in the state house, alongside his father, for six years. >> it is my privilege to introduce the president of the florida senate, a guy i know pretty well, the senator from northwest florida, don gaetz. >> reporter: took on the nickname baby gaetz from locals, nod to his father's early influence. >> in the state house, there was a cadre of young lawmakers at the time that got a lot of attention. there was a crowd that liked to stay ou

government and help alleviate gaetz legal woes fearing his family was being extorted, don gaetz contacted the fbi and told them he's working with the burro and has worn a wire. matt gaetz was asked about this sex trafficking investigation and about gaetz future on the committee. >> those are serious implications if it comes out to be true, yes, we would remove him if that were the case. right now as matt gaetz said it is not true so let get all the information. >> with that let's bring in our lead off guests on this wednesday night. peter baker, correspondent for "the new york times" and a.b. stoddard who wears glasses on occasion, veteran washington journalist and associate editor and columnist. i'm right there with you from real clear politics and chuck rosenberg, former u.s. attorney, and senior fbi official, notable host of the popular msnbc podcast "the oath." it took just over 4 1/2 years but we finally got our infrastructure week. how heavy a lift is this for joe biden? >> it as heavy as it could get obviously. you would think republicans and democrats could agree on rebuilding roa

don gaetz says this is extorted ive.e goes to the fbi and he also goes to one of these guys and he asks about these guys. don gaetz says he wears a wire and david mcgee says i am not involved in anything like that. i just represent the levinson family. i was hoping to get help for them potentially but he has never truly confirmed they talked about the levinsons. the fbi is investigating that separately. the fbi is concerned about someone who would throw this, at the time, nonpublic allegation of sex trafficking in the gaetz's family face. sources tell us look, none of those folks seem to have an apparent connection to the case except they found out about it. in other words they are not going to gaetz on behalf of the 17-year-old alleged victim in the case and saying you need to pay this woman money to make the allegations go away. they are referencing almost bizarre subplot having to do with bob levinson. he is also presumed to be dead. host: thank you for taking us through all of this. matt zapotsky, national security r

gaetz's father don gaetz allegedly received a message from a man saying he had a plan to make his son'spolitical problems go away. in a simple, unsigned document titled "project homecoming," it states gaetz was currently under investigation by the fbi for various public corruption and public integrity issues, including a sexual orgy with underaged prostitutes. in return, the document asks for a $25 million loan to fund an operation to rescue a former fbi agent who went missing in iran in 2007. the levenson famt ily said they received information from u.s. officials leading them to believe their father was dead. that same day, president trump said this. >> it's not looking great, but i won't accept that he's dead. they haven't told us that he's dead, but a lot of people are thinking that is the case. >> the levenson family attorney is david mcgee, the same man gaetz named in a fox news interview blaming him for the extortion attempt. >> i know there was a demand for money in exchange for a commitment that he could make this investigation go away along with his coconspirators. >> mcgee re

back in florida don gaetz is pretty respected. gaetz is known as baby gaetz when he started to develop a career thanks largely to his father. but most of it is par for the course. in fact, one of the things that i have been writing about lately is there's sort of this feigned shock and awe of pearl clutching among particularly republicans who seem to act like they're surprised by this stuff with matt gaetz. i don't know anything about the current accusations. they still have yet to play out. but there's plenty that has been absolutely proven about gaetz's behavior in the past that was widely open that we've written about for years. and folks down here didn't seem to care until now when it was a political liability. >> say more about that. what do you mean? >> well, just to give you one example, one of the reasons we followed gaetz here in orlando it wasn't sexy but because he was involved in asking florida's governor to stop orlando's airport bid with appointees who tried to mount a bid and hand out these no bid legal contracts. t

elected to the florida house in 2010 backed by his daddy don gaetz with deep pockets and connectionsr driving under the influence. called for recipients for welfare to be drug tested, and was one of two florida house members to vote against a bill criminalizing revenge porn. gaetz accused a holocaust claimed attorney general jeff sessions was a hostage in the deep state. defended trump's description of haiti as an asshole country, falsely accused gorge soros ten days before wore a gas mask to mock the threat from covid, attended a maskless party in new york at the height of the pandemic and the only member in congress to vote against a bill to combat against human trafficking. funny that. matt gaetz said he would quit his job, leave his home to defend donald trump. the question now is, will donald trump do the same thing for him? we all know the answer for that. >> next, the russian government allegedly tried to poison alexey navalny. he is risking death with a self-imposed hunger strike. hune starts with making a commitment. a promise to others. using the lessons you've learned. the

gaetz' family, his father don gaetz is florida republican royalty.enberg's family is not politically connected that way but own a wealthy dental practice down there in florida. they're not afraid to speak their mind. most germane to this, people in florida tell us they have been known to party together. matt gaetz would, according to these people, brag about how joel greenberg would set him up with women. they were both kind of in the trump orbit. you know, matt gaetz talked about how joel greenberg would be a great elected representative of office beyond the tax collector. so these guys are similar, and now their legal woes are kind of enmeshed. we don't have any evidence that matt gaetz is connected to the various wrongdoing at the tax collector's office that joel greenberg is accused of, but joel greenberg is indicted on a sex traffic of a minor charge. matt gaetz is being involved in that same charge. >> there's a couple of points in your story my jaw is just dropping. it's so fascinating, i appreciate it. >> thank you. >>> authorities have just

gaetz is ramping up his legal team. here's cnn's paula reid. >> reporter: good evening, don. today congressman gaetz published an op-ed where he tried to frame the ongoing criminal investigation as another political witch hunt. he also denied allegations of prostitution and sleeping with an underage girl, writing, first i have never, ever paid for sex and, second, i as an adult man have not slept with a 17-year-old. one thing gaetz did not address in his op-ed is the separate set of allegations first reported by cnn that he was showing nude pictures of women he allegedly sle slept with to other lawmakers, including when he was on or near the floor of the house. that conduct is not under criminal investigation, but it's another in a series of escalating scandals surrounding the lawmaker. and even as he denies the allegations in that op-ed today, cnn has learned gaetz is building a legal team to defend him as this moves forward. his lead attorney has added another lawyer with experience in white collar crimes. it's not clear when the second attorney was added, but it suggests th

back in florida don gaetz is respected and matt gaetz was known as baby gaetz. course. in fact, one of the things i have been writing about lately is there is this sort of fame shock and awe among particularly republicans who seem to act like they are surprised by this stuff with matt gaetz. i don't know anything about the current allegations, they still have yet to play out. but there is plenty that has been absolutely proven about his behavior in the past widely opened. folks down here didn't seem to care until now when it was a political liability. >> say more about that what do you mean? >> well, you know, just to give you one example. one of the reasons we followed him in orlando, it wasn't sexting. he was involved in stopping the airport to the point who tried -- these no bid legal contracts. that may not seem like something your viewers care about. that is orlando's swamp and every one of your viewers in every town in america may have their own swamps. while he was up there screaming about draining the swamp in washington. he was trying to pull the sledge

the washington examiner obtained documents showing that his father, former state senator don gaetz, wasture legal and political problems would go away if they put up $25 million to help free an american hostage in iran. not clear how they have the influence to stop a doj probe. and so this adds to the aura of ambiguity around the whole mess. >> absolutely. a lot of that had to do with gaetz himself. we remember the tweet where he said his father had been wearing a wire. it means the guy is continuing to wear a wire. many people's thoughts were if i wear a wire for anybody and you tweet about it, i'll be very upset. but look, right, liz is right. this story does have everything. it's got sex, it's got drugs. it hazmat gaetz who is a -- has matt gaetz who is a polarizing figure. he's a staunch supporter of trump so people either really love him or hate him. if it's buying expensive gifts for women and sleeping with them, that's not illegal. there are receipts coming in. we need to figure out more about what's happening. it's been interesting to see some on the left who normally wouldn't b

the "washington post" reports that two men made a proposal to gaetz's father, don gaetz.f his father donated money to help them find robert levinson a former fbi agent kidnapped in iran. the idea being that the congressman would get public credit for finding levinson. the source confirms to cnn the justice department is investigating the congressman over allegations of sex trafficking that involves a minor. >> it's part of a broader probe of another florida politician, that investigation began in the closing months of the trump administration under attorney general bill barr. cnn has learned he was briefed several times. gaetz claims he is the victim of extortion but a prominent florida official says even if there is extortion gaetz isn't off the hook. >> extortion is not a defense to child sex trafficking. it's a smoke screen in my opinion here because you can have both of these things. even if there is extortion here and the evidence does not bear it out, but we shall see, it does not negate the crime of child sex trafficking. you could have both things at the same time

president has remained silent amid this escalating set of scandals that could potentially end gaetz's political career. don paula reid, thank you so much. congressman gaetz certainly is in a lot of hot water. how much legal jeopardy he could be facing. that's next. i need a new wireles plan for my business, but all my employees need something different. oh, we can help with that. okay, imagine this... your mover, rob, he's on the scene and needs a plan with a mobile hotspot. we cut to downtown, your sales rep lisa has to send some files, asap! so basically i can pick the right plan for each employee... yeah i should've just led with that... with at&t business... you can pick the best plan for each employee and only pay for the features they need. dignity. this thing you can neither see nor measure... ...but that demands the return of small moments illness attempts to steal. ♪ dignity demands a rapid covid test, ♪ because we all need an answer to move forward. ♪ dignity demands your heart stays connected to your doctor, so you know it's beating as it should. ♪ it demands a better understanding of your gluco

it's possible all of the allegations that have been laid out, both by matt gaetz, by his father, don gaetz, and reportedly with what the fbi is investigating could be correct matt and his father say -- they say that there was an effort spent to pressure them to pay $25 million to help with the rescue of bob levenson bob levenson a man who was taken host animal by the irani government, he's a u.s. citizen, he's widely reported to have been passed away for quite some time but despite that, the gaetzes say that they were pressured to put up $25 million to try to help to fund his rescue from iran and they say that the offer was, pay up this $25 million and it will make you an american hero, it will make the biden administration delighted with you, it will fix your reputational problems, and then, problem solved, this whole fbi problem will go away now, matt gaetz and his father say that that was an extortion plot, that that's the real story, that the investigations involving joel greenberg and potential allegations into the congressman himself are specious and people need to be focusing on the

don. multiple sources tell cnn congressman gaetz showed other lawmakers photos and videos of nude women he claimed to have slept with. one source says gaetz shared the images on his phone even while on the floor of the house. another said it was a pont of pride for gaetz. there's no evidence that the justice department is looking into this issue or that these were photos of minors. his office so far has not responded to our reporting but all of this comes as cnn is learning new details about the scope of an entirely separate criminal investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by gaetz. tonight, new details on the sex trafficking investigation into representative matt gaetz. cnn has learned prosecutors are looking into a relationship with a woman that began when she was just 17 and whether his involvement with other young women broke sex trafficking and prostitution laws according to two sources briefed on the matter. those sources say investigators are also pursuing allegations that gaetz may have used cash and drugs in his dealings with young women, and they've also looked at whether an

don lemon. breaking news in the investigation of congressman matt gaetz. "the daily beast" reporting the congressman's friend and his wingman, right, wrote a confession letter saying that both he and the congressman paid for sex with several women and a 17-year-old girl. the letter was part of joel greenberg's bid to get a presidential pardon from trump and sought the assistance of none other than roger stone. cnn, as i said, hasn't seen the letter, can't confirm the details in "the daily beast" story. we have reached out to greenberg's attorney by the way. he said no comment, and he is citing attorney-client privilege. now, we also have reached out to the congressman's outside p.r. group. we haven't heard back yet, but here's what they told "the daily beast," and i quote here. they say, congressman gaetz has never paid for sex, nor has he had sex with a 17-year-old as an adult. politico has reported that mr. greenberg's threats to make false accusations against others and while "the daily beast" story contains a lot of confessions from mr. greenberg, it d

gaetz tonight. give us the latest what's going on. >> don, this is part of the story matt gaetz wants us to focus ond short of it. there are a couple of men who approached gaetz in the last few weeks and they said they had a proposal, which was they could try to help get rid of his legal and political problems if he would help fund this effort for them to -- to rescue bob levinson. bob levinson is a former fbi agent who disappeared in iran more than a decade ago. his family says they've been told he's no longer alive. so these two men apparently said that gaetz could essentially get rid of his problem with this investigation that you just outlined at the top there. there is -- that's in "the washington post" describes some of this. the washington examiner had some of the documents that they say described this proposal, which was called "project homecoming." and again these text messages allegedly say they would help matt gaetz get rid of his legal and political problems. the long and short of it, though, is this a separate investigation. this is something being investigated by prosecutors in florida

never ththeless republicans don want to defend matt gaetz.king clear he believes there should be an investigation and will decide what to do next. what will house republican leaders do, as well? kevin mccarthy the top republican in the house has not said whether or not there should be any punishment on matt gaetz and whether he should resign but should have a conversation on gaetz and also calls serious. same with liz cheney, the number three republican who has been targeted by matt gaetz, was not called on him to resign. the on one who has is adam kinzinger who is a sharp critic of the republican party. other than that, republicans not defending him but also not pushing -- knonot sayining he s step aside. >> do you have any indication whether or not gaetz will return? >> that's still an open question. under the rules of the house, members can vote what's called by proxy and essentially designate some member to vote on his or her behalf at their direction, as well. and matt gaetz is an active proxy leader. he can actually designate someone to

gaetz, tonight. so give us the latest. what's going on? >> well, donmean, this is the part of the story that mat gaetz wants us to focus on. and i will give you the short -- the long and short of it. there are a couple men, who approached gaetz in the last -- in the last few weeks. and they said they had a proposal, which was that they could try to help get rid of his legal and political problems, if he would help fund this effort for them to -- to -- to -- to rescue bob levinson. bob levinson is a former-fbi agent, who disappeared in iran more than a decade ago. his family says that -- they have been told that he is no longer alive. so this -- these two men, apparently, said that gaetz could -- could, essentially, get rid of his problem with this investigation, that you just outlined, at the top there. there is -- that's -- in "the washington post" describes some of this. "the washington examiner" had some of the documents that they say described this proposal, which was called project homecoming. and again, these text messages, allegedly, say that th

gaetz, through your sources. what are they telling you? >> well, donyou know, some of this -- this stuff, as you said, it's getting a little bit more -- a lot more sordid, as time goes on. and it appears, that witnesses have been talking to investigators about some of gaetz's activities. and a lot of it is tied into a friend of his, that he was associated in florida. another florida politician, named joel greenberg. who is indicted. he is set to go on trial, later this year. he is facing charges, that include sex trafficking. and a lot of these allegations appear to involve both men. and according to what these witnesses are telling investigators, that gaetz, not only was he involved with an underaged girl, who is 17 at the time. but he was using -- he was involved with -- with prostitutes and was, you know, using cash and drugs, you know. and perhaps, at least some of the allegations involve, perhaps, the use of campaign funds. or at least, what's what investigators are checking into, to see whether any of his campaign funds were used to help pay for

knowledge of any illegal activities, he said his departure from gaetz's office last fall was not related to the federal investigation, but donson is one of the only people who has come out to defend gaetz, but when actually pressed by reporters on the specifics of the criminal allegations, nelson said he didn't actually have any specific knowledge of the investigation and he actually hasn't even spoken to the congressman in months. >> our thanks to paula reid for that update. now, a prominent kremlin critic speaks out about his health and conditions at the prison where he is incarcerated. the latest on the alexei navalny. so you're a small business, or a big one. you were thriving, but then... oh. ah. okay. plan, pivot. how do you bounce back? you don't, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. powered by the largest gig speed network in america. but is it secure? sure it's secure. and even if the power goes down, your connection doesn't. so how do i do this? you don't do this. we do this, together. bounce forward, with comcast business. >>> the u.s. says it won't be taking unilateral action such as lifting sa

criminal prosecution in order to get matt gaetz to be removed from the house, in my view. >> math yeah dowd, thank you, sir. always a pleasure. >> thanks, don>>> the feds now investigating whether women were paid to travel to the bahamas for sex with congressman matt gaetz. "the daily beast" says they have new evidence. stay with us. start the year smiling at aspen dental where new starts happen, every day. get exceptional care at every step, unparalleled safety at every visit, and flexible payment options for every budget. now, during the everyday smiles event new patients get a full exam & set of x-rays with no obligation. no insurance? no worries, it's free. plus, now all patients can get 20% off their treatment plan. find every reason to smile. every day at aspen dental. call 1-800-aspendental or book today at aspendental.com ♪ ♪i've got the brains you've got the looks♪ ♪let's make lots of money♪ ♪you've got the brawn♪ ♪i've got the brains♪ ♪let's make lots of♪ ♪uh uh uh♪ ♪oohhh there's a lot of opportunities♪ with allstate, drivers who switched saved over $700. saving is easy when you're in good hands. allstate click or call to switch

don. you know, there are not a lot of republicans rushing to matt gaetz's defense, and you're going to heart to republican corners, and too long, republicans have found matt gaetz to be a knewn nua. >> and it would be much of a kinder sentiment. the house minority leader kevin mccarthy said he's going to deal with it, if anything turns out to be true. now that we learn about the photos, is that something that a minority lead shoulder do something about? >> he certainly can. look, i have spoken to republicans in the house and senate n florida and elsewhere over the past few years who have really been waiting for a moment they can do something about matt gaetz. while he enjoyed trump's loyalty, with trump as president, that was tough to do, and now that trump is out, and they are coming out, again, they allegations at this point, i think a lot of vrepublicans are relieved and they are going to jump on the opportunity. we have seen it before, when you don't have friends in your own party and you're criming on the side and there is something scandalous or skeleton like in your closet, don't be

so i mean, okay, matt gaetz likes to party, but what's the legal issue here? what -- are there legal issues here? >> yeah, donhe best indication we can get from this is looking at the charges against joel greenberg. so joel greenberg looks like he's going to be the cooperator here. he is charged with sex trafficking of a minor meaning paying to transport someone under the age of 18 across the state line for the purpose of prostitution or other commercial sex act. that is a very serious federal crime. it carries a ten-year mandatory minimum. it's one of the most serious penalties on the federal books, if proven. also, potential drug charges, potential money laundering charges, again, based on the reporting. the more facts we get, though, the worse it looks for matt gaetz. >> what do you believe prosecutors are getting from him, from joel greenberg? >> yeah, so joel greenberg appears to be cooperating. look, he is an unsavory character to say the least, but that's the nature of cooperating witnesses. as a prosecutor, when you get someone like joel greenberg, you're only going to cooperate him if, one, he can gi

gaetz spent a lot of times cozying up to ivanka. >> she toll me she liked my shoes. >> reporter: and don jr. >> like he did when he traveled to wyomingdonald trump jr.? >> reporter: while gaetz done everything he can to support trump. the former president has been less than passionate. none of the trump's children offered any public support for gaetz. trump is being advised to stay away from the gaetz's scandal. >> reporter: there is an open question as to gaetz's political future and as soon as next week. he had an open proxy vote or it is not clear if gaetz will be back to washington and there is his relationship with lea leade leaderships. erin, mccarthy's office won't say if that meeting has happened. i ryan thank you very much. >> what could this mean for all of us if hundreds of millions of people are not going to get the vaccine now. >>> the top putin's critic, navaln y >>> tonight t the cdc director warning the veariant discovered in the u.k. associated with a higher risk of death is officially the dominant strain in the u.s. this comes as the numbers in col covid cases and hospitalizations are rising. look at the seven-day a

gaetz? my pizza is here? >> i got to go. we'll see you. you can use that, don. i know you're going. >> all right. i love you, don lemon. >> i love you, too, talk to you later. this is "cnn tonight." i'm don lemon. and yes, chris is right. we have some breaking news. "the new york times" reporting tonight that congressman matt gaetz sought a preemptive pardon for himself and his allies from the trump white house. a spokesman for gaetz has denied to "the times" that his pardon request was related to the doj investigation of allegations involving sex trafficking and prostitution, including involving a minor. we have a whole lot more to come on this story tonight. so make here you stay tuned. all the details coming in, including new reporting from a reporter who has followed his career over a decade now. i mean, we also have new developments in the trial of the police officer who kneeled on george floyd's neck for an excruciating nine and a half minutes. we can't unsee it. we all saw what happened. that police officer kneeling while george floyd begged for his life while he said, i can't breathe, ove

but don nelson is one of the only people who has come out to defend gaetz.rt orders the specifics of the criminal allegations, nelson said he didn't actually have any specific knowledge of the investigation and he actually hand even spent on to the congressman in months. don? >> wow, thank you so much. appreciate that. i'll bring in now senior analyst kirsten powers and dave in palm beach county, florida. good evening to both of you. kirsten, i'll start. but gaetz said he is not rescening. he is embracing the trump tack i go the of not backing down. the gop hasn't act against him so far. are they going to wait to see what the investigation turns up? >> they're going to wait for that or they'll wait for some sort of sign from donald trump. i think the fear is that they don't want to do anything that will upset donald trump because matt gaetz is somebody who is very trumpy and very alined with donald trump much in the way marjorie taylor green is and can remember republicans weren't willing to hold her accountable for any of her behavior. that was because dona

don. and it's stunning the brashness of folks who are facing the kind of problems that matt gaetz has got right now, not just with the house ethics committee, but this guy has got a colleague where there is serious evidence. i mean he is looking at jail time. he is looking at an indictment down the road, and the brashness is just stunning but not unexpected from somebody like matt gaetz. >> ron, he says he's a victim of the deep state, but gaetz lost another staffer over his legal troubles. fellow republican adam kinzinger now calling for his resignation. do you think he can survivor this politically, and if so, how long? if not, how long? >> don, first of all, thanks for the nice words on the book. look, he's beyond spin here, right, as senator jones noted. i mean he's looking at serious legal allegations and if the evidence develops against him along the lines that it seems to be, you know, going, there's no -- you can yell deep state all you want. you can yell cancel culture all you want, and it will not change the realities that he faced. this was i think the most inevitable play of i

trafficking has expanded to start to examine whether gaetz may have used federal campaign funds to pay for travel or other expenses for his alleged victims. donla, thank you so much. now i bring in my guests. i'll start with you. it is really hard to keep one these bizarre allegations involving the congressman, congressman gaetz. help us understand, what is going on here? >> when i was in law school, we had these things called issue spotters. they were long, incredibly factual scenarios where you had to identify the legal issues. so the matt gaetz story is an ongoing issue spotter. the first issue that's clear. sex crimes, right? so potentially, sex trafficking or prostitution. the cash and drugs piece is important here in terms of evidence, if that's something the fbi uncovers. because sex trafficking requires force, fraud or coercion with minors to he said gauge in commercial sexual activity. so there has to be kind of a transactional component. so if he's paying, if somebody is paying for this, or using drugs to coerce them, it then fits more tightly into that particular definition and statute. the other piece that we -- >> go on. go on, p

gaetz to be removed from the house, in my view. >> matthew dowd. thank you, sir. always a pleasure. >> thanks, don. always good to talk to you. >>> the feds now investigating whether women were paid to travel to the bahamas for sex with congressman matt gaetz. >>> and breaking tonight. "the daily beast" says that they have some new evidence. stay with us. oh yeah, we gotta take off. you downloaded the td ameritrade mobile app? yeah, actually i'm taking one last look at my dashboard before we board... and you have thinkorswim mobile- -so i can finish analyzing the risk on this position. you two are all set. choose the app that fits your investing style. ♪ when you have metastatic breast cancer, what does it mean to be a thriver? it means we grab a hold of what matters most. we sweat the details. ask for what we want. get what we need. and we need more time. so, we want kisqali. living longer is possible and proven with kisqali when taken with a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor in premenopausal women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's significantly more effective at del

don. it's stunning, the brashness of folks facing the kind of problem that matt gaetz is having.ot just with the house ethics committee. this guy has a colleague where there is serious evidence. he is looking at jail time. he is looking at an indictment down the road. and the brashness is just stunning but not unexpected from somebody like matt gaetz. >> he says he's the victim of the deep state. but gaetz lost another staffer over his legal troubles. and now calling for his resignation. do you think he can survive this politically? if so, how long, if not, how long? >> first, it's a neighborhood you know well, "the new york times" best seller list. he's beyond spent here. he's looking at serious legal allegations. if the evidence develops against him along the lines that it seems to be going, there's no, you can yell deep state all you want. you can yell cancel culture all you want and it won't change the realities that he faces. this is the most inevitable plays of inevitable plays. that he's being targeted because he's a conservative but he is way beyond the point where he can

don lemon is here. crossing the networks, talking about his new book on race in america. matt gaetz facing mounting pressure the first republican lawmaker has called on him top resign. the house ethics committee says it is opening an investigation into his conduct. also brand new details about the federal investigation. >>> but we begin "the reidout" in a minneapolis courtroom. two weeks into the trial of former police officer derek chauvin. the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy of george floyd took the stand. dr. andrew baker's autopsy ruled floyd's death a homicide. floyd died because his heard and lungs stopped functioning rile being restrained by police. something he reiterated today. >> in my opinion, the law enforcement subdue restraint and neck compression was more than mr. floyd could take. >> the defense, however, is overlooking that finding focusing on other contributing factors from the report. like floyd's heart disease and past drug use. the doctor testified they way have played a role in floyd's beth, the ultimate cause is not in doubt. in fact, he saw nothing

don lemon is here. crossing the networks, talking about his new book on race in america. matt gaetz lawmaker has called on him top resign. the house ethics committee says it is opening an

don? that -- that's where we saw the culmination of the big lie. and now, we just see its perpetuation through people like matt gaetz. >> yeah but it is at a property by the former president, who failed to get a second term, incited the insurrection. loyalists like matt gaetz, marjorie taylor greene, are speakers there. why is the gop doubling down on -- all right -- what didn't work? >> well, they're a demographic cul-de-sac. and they don't have a broader vision or ideas for the future. they just think that they -- they are going to try and look in the rear-view mirror and repeat what trump did. but in my view, all that is doing is digging the -- the -- the ditch, deeper. and, you know, this -- they are clawing their way to the bottom. and -- and i don't know how much further they can go. but, listen. recent polling reflects the long-range issue, don. which is they may try and do this and they are going to make a lot of noise and the fox-news ecosystem. but as of this week, when people are asked whether or not they identify with the republican party or democrat party. people identify with the democrat party by almost ten points -- by nine points m