Joel Greenberg, a chief witness in the sex trafficking case against Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, appears to be working with investigators trying to determine if the 41-year-old Republican had intercourse with a 17-year-old girl while serving in Congress.
“I can confirm that Mr. Greenberg is cooperating in a congressional investigation,” Greenberg’s attorney Fritz Scheller told the Daily News on Friday. “The nature of the investigation, as well as the subjects of the inquiry, are questions better left for congressional investigators to answer.”
Scheller clarified to The New York Times the investigation involved the House Ethics Committee.
Greenberg — Gaetz’s one-time friend and former wingman — is said to have provided documents to lawmakers supporting his claim that he witnessed the MAGA firebrand engaging in a sexual act with a teenager. Greenberg is also said to have cooperated in an earlier Department of Justice investigation of Gaetz that produced no charges.
Federal prosecutors have reportedly been looking into whether Gaetz paid for sex with the alleged victim and where the rendezvous occurred.
According to the Daily Beast, the congressman used Venmo to send Greenberg $900 late one night in May 2018. Greenberg allegedly divided that amount among three young women the following morning. One of those recipients was a minor.
The congressman’s old pal pleaded guilty to sex trafficking in 2021 and was sent to prison for 11 years.
Following Greenberg’s sentencing in 2022, Scheller said he was “disappointed” the Justice Department didn’t criminally charge anyone else, but did not give any names, according to CNN.
A spokesman for Gaetz told the Times that the Ethics Committee was looking at the same “unreliable” evidence that was seemingly dismissed by the Justice Department, and warned news outlets against “laundering smears from people in prison.”
Gaetz’s office hasn’t returned a request for comment. The congressman previously denied wrongdoing.
The Hollywood, Fla. native was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016. He’s the son of former Florida State Senator Don Gaetz. Among his most notable achievements as a U.S. congressman was spearheading the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October.
