, vis-@-vis her friend, who had met joel greenberg. >> joel greenberg, who is now in prison. >> that is correct, yeah. and when she arrived, she testified that she had sex with representative gaetz within minutes of arriving. >> within minutes of arriving? >> within minutes of arriving, yes. she was introduced to him, representative gaetz took her upstairs and they had sex in one of the bedrooms upstairs. >> and that was a prearranged, paid for sex encounter? >> so, that situation was a situation that joel greenberg would have arranged ahead of time. there was no payment from representative gaetz at that particular time. my clients testified that the payments came later on, at separate events. >> and after that, in that setting, is that when your clients used the 17-year-old girl? >> so, he was at that same event, back in july of 2017, and another time later on in the party, she was walking outside, toward the pool area. she looked to her right and she saw her friend, who was 17 at the time, having sex with representative gaetz. >> and roughly how long is that, after he has had sex w

she was invited by her friend who had met joel greenberg and they invited.d that party back in july. in 2017. and she first met representative gaetz, then my other client met representative gaetz at a party that she was invited to by joel greenberg later that same year in december of 2017. >> all right so they met in back in 2017. these interactions continued for a couple of years. and when you look back at it and he was paying them for these sexual encounters, how much did he pay them? >> when my clients provided testimony to the house they they put up on the on the screen a list of the venmo and paypal transactions directly from representative gaetz to my clients for one of the clients was a little over 6000. for another client, it was a little over 4000. >> so a little over $10,000 to your clients from him directly. that's correct. on paypal and venmo. okay so, um how did how did it start the payments for that? he would be paying them for sex. >> so the house asked my clients what the payments were for. and i mean they met on a on a seeking.com. and that

. >> mike, joel greenberg is seven serving 11 years in jail and one of the things that he was chargeds sex trafficking of a minor. is that the same person that mta gaetz is alleged to have had sex with two times? >> no. both matt gaetz and joel -- joel greenberg told federal authorities that he had had sex with a 17-year-old girl and that he saw gaetz have sex with a 17-year-old girl. during the federal investigation authorities learned that gaetz had had sex with a 17-year-old girl two times over the span of a day in 2017. in one of those encounters, another adult woman participated in what was going on. i'm not sure how much that changed things. weal read ed knew wealready learned that gaetz had learned that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl. another instance of that bolsters the idea that it happened, but at the end of the day, joel greenberg pled guilty to having sex with a 17-year-old girl who he knew was being paid for that. he was facing a ten-year mandatory minimum because of that. he received more than a ten-year sentence. gaetz was never indicted. had he been indicted on th

. >> joel greenberg, of course is serving time right now and you describe his role in all of this asl greenberg was essentially responsible or did have access to seeking arrangements, and he would essentially meet the woman and seeking arrangements and then would introduce them to, to the the other individuals in his group. >> all right. and this, this group of people, which included your clients. can i ask you just to explain your clients? obviously, you had talked about how they saw then representative matt gaetz at that time, around 35, having sex with a 17 year old in the air hockey table. how when did your clients first meet him? >> yeah. so my client first met representative gaetz at that party in july of 2017. she was invited by her friend, who had met joel greenberg and they invited and she attended tt in and she first met representative gaetz. then my other client met representative gaetz at a party that she was invited to by joel greenberg later that same year in december of 2017. >> all right so they met in back in 2017. these interactions continued for a couple of years a

and so i think joel greenberg's testimony.apparently provided written information to the house ethics committee i think would be at the heart of this, along with other witnesses. the minor, other witnesses to the conduct. >> gaetz's girlfriend i think is in an affidavit as well? >> yes. >> so it's interesting because the house is like okay, doj didn't charge him with the crimes but it's of interest to us an ethical matter and now the sort of rub is -- the house is saying yesterday, you know, if gaetz is no longer in congress, then the ethics committee doesn't have purview over him except that, it's not like he's just leaving to go sell real estate in florida. >> right. right. he -- he's actually leaving to go get a higher position. he's looking to be part of the president's cabinet. so those rules where i mean, the reason you wouldn't make a report like that public is because hey, if the guy is leaving with his tail between his legs you don't want to just dirty him up. let him go. you got what you wanted. here here's resigning

. >> she was invited to the party by joel greenberg by a friend. >> the one who's now in prison? >> that's correct. >> when she arrived she testified that she had sex with gaetz within minutes of arriving. she was introduced to him. he took her to a room in one of the rooms upstairs. >> this was a prearranged and paid for sex and counter? >> the situation was something joel greenberg would have arranged ahead of time and there was no payment from representative gaetz at the time but it was testified this payment came at a different event. >> after that in the setting, is that when your client sees the 17-year-old girl? >> this was in july 2017 at that event and later on , in the party, she was walking outside toward the pool and she looked to her right and saw her friend who was 17 at the time having sex with representative gaetz. >> your client knew that the girl was 17? >> yes, she was aware that her friend was under 17 as they went to high school together. >> they went icicle together and that 17-year-old was still in high school? >> that's right. >> the evidence of the report

joel greenberg was a cooperating witness.afficking of this minor. and, you know, as far as we know, he was giving information about other men that he introduced this minor too. he said as part of his plea that he also witnessed this, the minor having sex with other men. doesn't say who. but that he was a witness to that, and these acts were happening. and so the judge in that sentencing of joel greenberg said this was cooperation beyond anything he'd seen in his 22 years. and that's under seal, most of it. the only parts we know that are public are the four people he ended up giving information on that were charged. four people charging based on a cooperator, that's not extraordinary. what's extraordinary is what's under seal. i imagine that's part of what the house ethics committee took up because doj decided not to charge matt gaetz with anything, but the house ethics committee wanted to investigate further. maybe there's not a federal crime here, but maybe there's something else. they were really looking at the sexual misc

she was invited to that party by joel greenberg vis-@-vis her friend, who had met joel greenberg. >> was now in prison. >> that is correct. when she arrived, she testified that she had sex with representative gaetz within minutes of arriving. >> within minutes of arriving. >> yes. she was introduced to him. presented gaetz took her upstairs into the room and they had sex one of the bedrooms upstairs . >> was that prearranged? >> so that situation was a situation that joel greenberg would have arranged ahead of time. there is no payment from representative gaetz at that particular time. our clients testified that the payments came later on at separate events. >> and after that in that setting, is that when your clients used the 17-year-old girl? >> it was at that same event back in july of 2017. at another time later on in the party, she was walking outside for the pool area. she looked to the right and saw her friend who was 17 at the time having sex with representative gaetz. >> roughly how long is that after he has had sex with the first girl? >> i don't know the exact timeframe, b

and his associate, joel greenberg is serve fg a sentence of 10 year ceptance in prison for trafficking of a minor. he said in his plea, i didn't know she was 17. he is still in jail for that. the judge said his cooperation, joel greenberg's cooperation against many individuals was among the most significant he had seen in 22 years on the bench. so he gave up the goods on matt gaetz. i don't know that, that is under seal but i know that. otherwise, based on what was public, it does not make sense. so there is a lot here. and knowing how much is here and knowing how much has been public for so long and the fact that donald trump decided this would be his top cop is an absolute cop and the only reason he isn't is not because donald trump had second thoughts,o gee, it is terrible that he did these things. it is because some of the senators had a spine. >> a spine or ego. let me show you some of the things matt gaetz said about the people asked to vote for him for attorney general. >> we have murkowski and collins rejecting the duties that they have as senators and if they do that, their vo

the judge in that sentencing of joel greenberg said this was cooperation be on anything he is seen inat our public are the four people he ended up giving information on that were charged. four people charging based on a cooperator -- that is pretty standard. that is not, this is or extraordinary. what is under seal? i imagine is part of what now the house ethics committee took up. doj decided not to charge matt gaetz with anything. but the house ethics committee wanted to investigate further. maybe there is not a federal crime, maybe there is something else. they were looking at these sexual misconduct allegations in the illicit drug use, among other things. i think joel greenberg's testimony, he apparently provided written information to the house ethics committee, i think it would be at the heart of this. along with other witnesses, the minor, and other witnesses to the conduct. >> his girlfriend, as well. the house is like, doj did not charge him with crime, but it's of interest to us as an ethical matter. now the house ethics chair, he said, if he is no longer in congress, then th

joel greenberg, who's serving time, is on it with these payments. this was prepared by federal investigators. it's basically just a web of thousands of dollars of venmo payments between gaetz and a group of associates, friends women he allegedly had drug fueled sex parties with over a three year time span um, you know, look, i'm not happy to be talking with you about drug fueled sex parties, but here we are. i mean, senator if true, this is obviously a lot of payments to multiple women way and and this is why i think when the senate is going through this confirmation process that we have to have oversight. >> and i think a lot of this information needs to be needs to be brought forth to allow matt to talk about it. if that's what he chooses to do. but this is this is article two, section two, where we advise and consent the president of the united states on his nominations. and so i think everybody in the senate, we take oversight very important, which is why i think it's very important that this information makes its way over to the senate, even if

the chief accuser, a guy named joel greenberg who was a local tax collector in florida, pled guilty and cooperated against gaetz and talked about how he had seen gaetz have sex with the 17-year-old girl. one of the women who is a client of the lawyer, mr. leopard, has told investigators that she saw mr. gaetz have sex with a 17-year-old. it is true, the department did not charge gaetz but what you're seeing and if you think through to make sense. if that nomination goes forward, he will almost certainly you would have to be asked at the confirmation hearing, whether he had sex for money. that will put him in a position where he will have to answer the question and he could also take the fifth amendment if he thought that he had criminal exposure. whatever he says will be interesting. if he says yes, that means one thing and if he says no he is contradicting witnesses and other evidence that backs them up. >> we should note the obvious. having sex with someone underage when you are a man in his 30s is illegal. paying for sex is illegal and the department of justice is the chief law enfor

it lasted for several years and it ramped up when his long- time friend and confidante joel greenberg flipped, became state's witness and started providing evidence against the not contract. he repeatedly denied wrongdoing. he wasn't charged. tell congressman is now the subject of an ethics probe on the hill looking at many of the same allegations. it was always thought this would make him a nonstarter for a potential attorney general pick. here, president- elect trump believes that this is the person that will go to the justice department and do what he wants him to do. the question, of course, is whether he can get confirmed. that remains to be seen. if you wantwant to rout out corruption, you're choosing someone who was under an investigation in the trump administration. that's part of why this is such a controversial pick. >> i guess if matt gaetz were here, and congressman gaetz, you have an invitation to come on the show. if he were here, he would say that's yes should be picked. because he's innocent. that's what he argues. and this is an example of the weaponization of governm

joel greenberg rotting in jail for the same thing matt gaetz did, 11 years in florida, what does he have he can blackmail? what girls can come forward about their drug fueled , every one that matt gaetz denied. what else was he doing, showing pictures of sexual conquest, for character in national security, there is zero chance that anyone who had done that, much less what a background investigation would turn up, could even get the first step toward an appointment at the lowest professional level of the department of justice, not to mention attorney general.>> this is such an important point, people who have not been around government don't know this. when you get a job at maine justice or in the white house, you get an fbi background check, i have been involved in multiple, these are extremely serious, they talk to people that you knew in college or people you knew after law school, references, they check them, they are looking for, from a security perspective, your susceptibility to blackmail either for corrupt intent, et cetera, and right now what fits with this, we have news that the

the chief accuser of his, joel greenberg who was a local tax collector in florida pled guilty and cooperatedt gaetz and talked about how he saw gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl. one of the women who is a client of the lawyer has told congressional investigators she saw mr. gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old. it is true. the department did not charge gaetz. but what you are seeing, and it makes sense. if gaetz's nomination goes forward he will almost certainly, you would think, be asked at his hearing whether he had sex with women for money. you know, that will put him in a position where he will have to answer the question. he could take the fifth amendment if he thought he had criminal exposure and did not want to answer it. whatever he says to the answer is interesting. if he says yes that means one thing. no, he is contradicting witnesses and other evidence that backs him up. the fifth amendment, you will have a attorney general who took the fifth amendment during his confirmation hearing. >> we should note the obvious point in all of this. having sex with someone under age when

to young women, some witnesses in this case, regarding the 17-year-old girl, a friend of his joel greenberg pled guilty in 2021 to an array of charges, including sex trafficking and agreed to cooperate against matt gaetz. he was later sentenced to 11 years in prison. sop someone serving 11 years in prison for involvement in the same parties that allegedly involved this 17-year-old girl. so could we talk for a moment about what it would have meant to have somebody with that record be the attorney general of the united states? those allegations, i should say. >> well, i will -- this is an all-florida panel talking about an all-florida panel. that's always nice. this is truly a kind of florida mad moment. you said it. those kind of allegations around the nation's top law enforcement officer would form a bridge too far. we saw that for many of those senators, even those who are clearly within the maga caucus. it was a bridge too far. so this is not only i think, a humiliation for matt gaetz and a disaster for the president-elect. it is somewhat of a moment of triumph for the senate. the questio

joel greenberg a walking criminal enterprise.ophile. so the government wasn't relying on him. the victim lied about her age and went on a sugar daddy website and now does adult film. i am not castigating someone for their choice of employment, but it doesn't have anywhere appeal. so the justice department subpoenaed matt gaetz's former girlfriend, worked for the federal government and she was given immunity to testify before the grand jury and apparently she only gave him up on the witness tampering issue. and unless you have an underlying crime against a sitting congressman, the doj was not going to prosecute matt gaetz for tampering with a witness. so they let it go. now, the house at this committee is continuing to subpoena documents and even was going to subpoena matt gaetz himself in an attempt to possibly throw him out of congress like george santos. kevin mccarthy was behind this. now who knows what's began happen? because gaetz has so many enemies, powerful enemies, there is a chance that enough republicans in the senate

it's a chart that the "times" obtained that shows pictures of matt gaetz and his friend joel greenbergto women and payments. the document assembled by investigators during a three-year sex trafficking investigation into mr. gaetz, is a chart that shows a web of thousands of dollars in venmo payments between mr. gaetz and a group of his friends, associates and women who had drug-fuelled sex parties between 2017 and 2020. according to testimony, the participents are said to have given to federal congressional investigators. >> seth: look at that diagram. that looks like something you get back from 23andme except it's 17andme. now, this is -- [ laughter ] [ audience oohs ] no -- the me is matt. [ laughter ] this is the creepiest edition of "where's waldo" i've ever seen. [ light laughter ] it's like one of those richard scarry books where you have to find goldbug. let's see. where is he? oh, there he is. right next to matt. there. [ laughter ] wait, but they can't all fit in goldbug's bugdozer. so, who drove to the sex parties? oh! not you, lowly worm. and if this chart were about a democ

lawsuit that was filed by a friend, a former congressman gaetz, against another one of the friends, joel greenberg, who is in jail after pleading guilty to several crimes and the woman who is allegedly 17 years old when she had sex with the former congressman. he sued both of them and as a result, they had to engage in discovery. they created a whole new record of evidence. now the underage victim was deposed but her deposition, as well as other women in this case, they are all under seal. but lawyers got kind of crafty and used some of what is under seal in their questions to the man who filed this lawsuit. so we're getting a little bit of glimmer of what that underage formerly underage woman said. for example, the lawyers asked the asked gaetz's friend and you heard her testimony that she said that you observed her and matt gaetz having sex on an air hockey table. now, this witness denies that he saw that. but the lawyer also throws in that the friend of the underage woman who brought her to the party testified that she too had sex with gaetz at the same gathering so they're taking information t

this associate sued another friend named joel greenberg, who's currently in jail. some members of his family, but he also sued the woman, who was just 17, when she allegedly had sex with the former congressman now, the problem is that this lawsuit created a whole new record of evidence in the discovery process that you go through during civil litigation, including a deposition with that underage girl. now that is under seal as well as the depositions of other women in this case. but the lawyers who represented some of the people who were sued in this case, they used portions of her sealed deposition. so portions of the underage girls deposition in their questions to the man who brought this case, which are all public records. so this was their way of maybe getting a little bit of her story out. so, for example, in one of their questions, they asked quote, she said that you observed her and matt gaetz having sex on the air hockey table. now it's important to note that the person who was asked this denied having seen that. but this is the kind of evidence that the co

it's a chart that the times obtained that shows pictures of matt gaetz and his friend joel greenberg, with links to women and payments. it's a lot of links. how does the piece this is how the piece describes it. quote the document assembled by investigators during a three year sex trafficking investigation into mr. gates, is a chart that shows a web of thousands of dollars in venmo payments between mr. gates and a group of his friends associates and women who had drug fueled sex parties between testimony. the participants are said to have given to federal congressional investigators. the report continues at the parties, women and a girl who was 17 at the time were paid for sex, according to accounts of the participants testimony from people briefed on what they said. trump spokesman steven cheung had this to say to the times, quoting him now this of classified investigative material is the sort of politicized doj weaponization that matt gates will end. and gates, as we've said before, denies all allegations against him. now, all of this capped off a day that saw vice president elect v

they were looking into whether gaetz and a guy named joel greenberg, a colleague, a friend, ally of hisfficking of if gaetz had been indicted in the federal investigation, he would have faced a mandatory minimum, which means that if he had been found guilty, he would have gone to prison for ten years. >> so answer the question, and i'm so glad you're talking about this guy, who is in jail for ten years, answer the question and we asked on this show, as we heard there was this investigation going on, we kept saying, okay, this isn't that hard. she was either 17 or she was 18. what i don't understand is we now have testimony, sworn testimony, that we have seen from the house ethics committee saying, oh, she was 17. and he paid for sex and it was, like, these drug-fueled original orgies. why is that guy in jail for ten years for doing what these witnesses are testifying matt gaetz did? why didn't the feds bring charges against matt gaetz, if, in fact, we have this testimony now and we know what they told the feds and what they told the house? >> because your question is basically the evide