. >> his name is david mcgee.al in the leadership in the northern district of florida as a prosecutor. he currently works at the begs and ellayna law firm. as a as a matter of fact, one of the recordings that was made at the fbi and department of justice request occurred at that law firm and the money that was supposed to be paid today that would have shown even more evidence of david mcgee's work in this extortion scheme, that was foiled by the "new york times" story and i believe that's why this horrible information and these terrible allegations have been used this evening. >> tucker: so -- and i will get to the investigation in just a second. but you are saying that david mcgee was motivated by greed. he was trying to extort money from your family? that's his motivation, you are saying? >> i know that there was a demand for money in exchange for a commitment that he could make this investigation go away along with his co-conspiratorrers. they even claimed to have specific connections inside the biden white hou

. >> his name is david mcgee.a top official in the leadership in the northern district of florida as a prosecutor. he currently works at the begs and lane law firm. one of the recordings made at the fbi and department of justice requested occurred at that law firm. the money that was supposed to be paid today that would show more evidence of david mcgee's work in this extortion screen, that was spoiled by "the new york times" story and i believe that is why this horrible information and these terrible allegations have been used this evening. >> in an interview with "the daily beast" david mcgee, the person gaetz claiming is distorting him denied the act sayings saying any allegations against him or his firm are totally false. he said this is to distract from the fact gaetz is about to be charged with sex trafficking of underaged girls. >>> included in that figure is money allotted for transportation infrastructure such as roads, bridges and highways and investing in broadbands and clean water and electric grid and

>> his name is david mcgee, he is a top official in the leadership in the northern district of floridahe currently works at the becks and lane law firm, one of the recordings that was made at the fbi and the department of justice's request occurred at that law firm and the money that was supposed to bewn paid today that would have shown even more evidence of his work in this extortion scheme, that was spoiled by "the new york times" and i believe that is why this horribleav information and these terrible allegations had been used this evening. >> tucker: i'll get to the investigation and just the second, you're saying that david mcgee was motivated by greed, he was trying to extort money from your m family, that is his motivation you're saying. >> i know there was a demand for money in exchange for a commitment that he could make this investigation go away along with hisla coconspirators. they even claimed to have specific connections inside the fight in white house. now i don't know if that's true, they were promising that joe biden would pardon me, obviously i don't need a pardon, i'

. >> david mcgee who was a federal prosecutor 25 years ago denied any attempt to extort gaetz telling a blatant attempt to distract from him dating under aged girls. two separate investigations are ongoing. one into gaetz for possible sex trafficking and one into the extortion plot that he has alleged. the investigation into gaetz began when his associate joel greenberg was indicted on multiple charges last year including a count of sex trafficking of a child greenberg pleaded not guilty to the charges. photos from greenberg's social media feed show him with gaetz on two occasions including one with roger stone in 2017 while gaetz has been quick to allege extortion he's offered few details about why he would be the subject of a sex trafficking probe. he even seemed to confuse tucker carlson in the process of explaining it. >> what is the allegation that really not very clear from these news stories. >> yeah. again, i only know what i've read in "the new york times. i can say that actually you and i went to dinner about two years ago. your wife was there and i brought a friend of mine,

now david mcgee released a statement to "the washington post." . and i want to read it to you. mcgee denying that he was involved in any way saying, quote, it is completely false. it is a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that he's under investigation for sex trafficking of minors. i have no connection with that case at all. other than one of a thousand people who have heard the rumors. and, jim, just a reminder. gaetz was a very close ally to president trump up here on capitol hill. he was someone who stood by the president whether it was something the president was saying about the election being rigged, whether it was the first impeachment or the second. gaetz has stood by the president at every turn. again, important to note that this investigation started when president trump was still in office. jim? >> and to be clear, gaetz's extortion claim is about information that the investigation was under way, not the origin of the investigation itself. >> that's exactly right, jim. >> understood. of course, bill barr was leading the justice

. >> katie, the gaetz allegation of extortion is against one david mcgee, a former federal prosecutor. make no mistake, a formidable member of the bar. he has put out a statement tonight reading in part, any reports of extortion involving him or his firm are completely or totally false. quote, this is a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that matt gaetz is apparently about to be indicted for sex trafficking underage girls. what's your knowledge of mr. mcgee? >> so we know he did work at the justice department, but he worked there more than two decades ago. he was the first assistant in the office of the northern district of florida, which is the district in which matt gaetz is a congressman. but again, this was decades ago. it seemed like matt gaetz was trying to say that something else somebody who's currently involved in the justice department somehow. he's not currently involved in the justice department. nice private practice and has not been involved with the doj for some time. >> and i don't want to take you into the area of analysis, but hours before this report broke ma

. >> his name is david mcgee. >> reporter: mcgee is a private attorney in florida who left the justice '90s. the allegation by the congressman is false and defamatory. while he was the doj, he would never entertained a scheme such as what congressman gaetz suggests nor would he today. >> you and i went to dinner and your wife was there and i brought a friend of mine and she was actually threatened by the fbi. >> i don't remember the woman you are speaking of honestly. >> reporter: carlson distanced himself afterwards. >> that was the weirdest interview i ever conducted. >> reporter: tucker carlson was livid that gaetz broke him into a controversy involving a sex miner. erin. >> paul, thank you very much and welcome to the network. great to have you. >> i want to go now to katy brennar, and jim clemente. how big of a deal of an investigation like this? >> if you are talking about sex crimes against children in general or sex trafficking of children, it is both serious charges, felonfelonies. >> attorney bill barr was briefed on the investigation multiple times while he was in office and

david mcgee, the individual named, gave a statement to "the washington post."e, it is completely false. it is a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that he's under investigation for sex trafficking of minors. i have no connection with the case at all other than one of a thousand people who have heard the rumors. it's important to point out that this investigation from the department of justice had started as an investigation into another politician in the state of florida, and these concerns about gaetz grew out of that investigation. it's also important to note that this began during the trump administration, when bill barr was still the attorney general. gaetz a close ally of the former president, someone who stood by his side multiple times on capitol hill, whether it was related to former president trump calling the election rigged, from the first impeachment to the second impeachment, gaetz has been by the former president's side. important to note this investigation began when trump was still in office. >> lauren fox, thank you for keeping us on top

. >> his name is david mcgee.p official in the leadership in the northern district of florida as a prosecutor. he currently works at the beggs and lane law firm. as a matter of fact, one of the recordings made at the fbi and department of justice request occurred at that law nfirm, and money that was supposed to be paid today would show more evidence of higgs work in this extortion scheme. >> reporter: gaetz called on the fbi and doj to release tapes of surveillance involving his father. >> if the fbi and department of justice will release tapes they're in possession of, the american people will see what is really going on. >> reporter: his law firm had a statement denying allegations against him. the allegation by the congressman is false and defamatory. mr. mcgee was the chief united states attorney for northern district of florida 25 years ago. during his tenure with the department of justice, his reputation for integrity and ethical conduct was impeccable. cnn source did not disclose who was being investigated

. >> his name is david mcgee he says this is completely false and attempt to distract from any of theerlying facts. meanwhile, a democrat, congressman lu, says gaetz should be removed from the judiciary tonight. >> just tonight i'm being called to be removed from the judiciary committee. we are in an area of politics where people are smeared to take them out of the conversation i'm not the only person on screen who has been falsely accused of a terrible sex act. >> gaetz trying to bring mr. carlson to it. he would respond saying this is one of the weirdest interviews he's ever done in his long media career we're joined by a civil rights attorney and also a white house reporter for "the daily beast." walk us through why matt gaetz is talking about so many other things without responding to how he figures into the doj sexual trafficking investigation. >> well, something that broke earlier today makes the story even weirder we had found out that matt gaetz was in possession of text messages or documentation that show what he characterized as this massive extortion scheme. it has to do wi

. >> his name is david mcgee. >> he left the justice department in the '90s, his law firm releasing atement today. the allegation by the congressman is false and defamatory. while he was with the doj, he would never have entertained a scheme such as what congressman gaetz suggests, nor would he today. gaetz's interview with tucker carlson took a strange turn. >> you and i went to dinner about two years ago, your wife was there. i brought a friend of mine. you remember her. she was actually threatened by the fbi. >> i don't remember the woman you're speaking of or the context at all. >> carlson distanced himself afterwards. >> that is one of the weirdest interviews i ever conducted. >> cnn learned gaetz is shopping for a defense attorney the past several weeks. his political future hangs in the balance. today, kevin mccarthy said he hasn't had a chance to speak with gaetz but acknowledged the allegations are serious and if true, he will deal with it. wolf? >> paula reed, new senior legal affairs correspondent. welcome to cnn. you'll be a frequent visitor in "the situation room." thanks

. >>> now, the former doj prosecutor who gaetz claims tried to export him, david mcgee, he tells thecompletely false. mcgee calls it a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that he's under investigation for sex trafficking of minors. i have no connection with that case at all other than one of 1,000 people who have heard the rumors. we should note in 2017 mr. gaetz was the only member of congress to vote against giving the federal government more power and money to fight human trafficking. >> a lot more to come in that case is my guess. >>> republicans in key electoral states now pushing ahead with new bills to restrict voter access. arizona, texas, michigan and florida are among the states now doing this. many of them using former president trump's bogus election fraud claims as reason to tighten their voting rules and ultimately suppress democratic votes. the efforts come on the heels of georgia rushing through a sweeping law which requires voter identification for absentee ballots, limits the use of ballot drop boxes and makes it a crime to give voters waiting in line food and

fox news interview last night, gaetz actually named this person as david magee, a former prosecutor for the justice department. now, mcgeestatement to the "washington post" fervently denying these allegations. i want to read you that statement. we should also say cnn has reached out to david magee. he says, quote, it's blatantly false. it's a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that he's under investigation for sex trafficking of minors. i have no connection with that case at all, other than, one of a thousand people who have heard the rumors. there's an investigation into a former florida politician. gaetz said he's the subject of the investigation, but not the target of it. cnn has continued to reach out to the department of justice who say they cannot confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. >> thank you. >>> target, accusations, denials. there's a lot going on. joining us all to make sense of it all is margaret t talev. there's a lot going on in this fl fl flurry of accusations. how do you make sense of it? >> look. these are incredibly serious allegations about a sitting member of congress. i think y

he named this former prosecutor, david mcghee, who worked in the federal prosecutor's office in pensacola years ago. now, we've been trying to reach mcgeepost," and he said it's completely false, a blatant attempt to deflect from the investigation of him of trafficking of minors. i have no connection with that case at all, other than -- apparently the facts of the allegations of these cases, erica, has been widely known in florida legal circles, so we expect these are two separate investigations that will continue. >> evan perez, thank you. >>> thank you for joining us. you brooke baldwin is up next with more live coverage of the derek chauvin trial. went afternoon. thank you for being with me. day three of the testimony in the trial of derek chauvin -- who proceedings have taken a break for lunch. we'll bring you back to the courtroom as soon as they resume. the majority of today's testimony has been focused on this video footage from here inside and outside the cup foods store. there in the tank top, that's george floyd. the very first time we are now

consumer optimism continues to boom tiffany mcgee is here with the names you need to know and the top insider buys of the last two weeks. >>> celebrity chef davidestaurants and why he is doubling down and opening up new ones >>> the magic kingdom getting magical. disney looking to expand its california park after a year of being shutdown grab your coffee let's get going. it is friday, march 26th this is "worldwide exchange" here on cnbc ♪ ♪ it's magic ♪ when i'm with you ♪ it's magic ♪ >>> welcome back good friday morning. i'm brian sullivan let's get right to it and see how your money is shaping up on the final trading day of the week looking good futures are higher dow futures are up across the board. follows a nice turn around thursday we opened weak and bottomed out at 11:00 eastern time. we ended higher. not a lot. not making a huge amount of gains, but more the turn around that made people feel more optimistic coming into today that is reflected in the futures. >>> it is friday friday, right? friday i'm back that means your weekly insider buying segment is back we show you the five companies whose insiders are buying the most of their own