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@zedvictor4
I mean, I can't say you're wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
the end of morality and civility
Posts
Total:
79
“Black people in the streets are getting killed and if one of them happens to be your kid, I’m concerned about him too. And clearly I’m more concerned about him than you are,”
-Cedric Richmond
It's okay, because Cedric put him back on topic.
not one person had condemned or punished him for what he said, when you can attack someone and involve their children in that setting without reprisal that should say a lot about the state of society. they have NO moral authority over President Trump.
interesting how that furthers division and harmony in our society, gotta fire up the riots and looters I guess.
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@Greyparrot
I literally don’t know how you spin this. He’s clearly claiming that he’d be more concerned about the issue of police brutality with regards to a father’s black child than the father of that black child which Is absurd.
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@Greyparrot
@TheDredPriateRoberts
@ILikePie5
So... none of you are going to address #54? It's laid bare, right in front of your eyes.
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@PressF4Respect
So... none of you are going to address #54? It's laid bare, right in front of your eyes.
Can’t read that on mobile cause of formatting. Explain it to me tho. Is it wrong to say I’m more concerned about your kid than you when it comes to police brutality?
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@ILikePie5
Can’t read that on mobile cause of formatting. Explain it to me tho. Is it wrong to say I’m more concerned about your kid than you when it comes to police brutality?
The first part he said was this:
- Let's note that both of Gaetz' s assertions are straw men
- You are asserting that none of us have non-white children.
- RIchmond never said anything of the kind.
- He said you are all white men who do not know what it is like to be an African-American male.
- That's objectively true so Gaetz had no hope of refuting so he creates a false claim that some white men don't have non-white children. RIchmond tells Gaetz to sit down.
The main crux of his argument (the part that directly counters your argument) is this:
- Then Gaetz falsely asserts Richmond is claiming to be more concerned about Gaetz family than Gaetz.
- Richmond said, If one of the black males getting killed by cops is Gaetz's then Richmond is objectively more concerned about his welfare than Gaetz.
- But none of the black males getting killed cops is Gaetz's so Richmond's conditional is not met and Richmond made no such claim.
Also this:
- In fact, Gaetz has no black son
- In fact, Gaetz has no wife or kids
- In fact, Gaetz lied repeatedly about adopting an immigrant son who is actually just a kid who lives with Gaetz under some fairly suspect circumstance. Gaetz claims that their relationship is based on love and not paperwork but 12 year old boys making their primary residence with unmarried congressman is a circumstance that requires a lot of paperwork to be anything like legal
- Either Gaetz thinks of the boy as family and has lied about denied the boy's membership in his family for 7 years or he never thought of the boy as family until such a claim offered some political expedience.
- Either way, we can say without fear of contradcition that Matt Gaetz is the worst fucking father ever.
- Which, even if Gaetz's houseboy were black would still affirm Richmond's claim. There is no version of this story in which it is not objectively true that Richmond cares more about Gaetz's fake black son than Gaetz does.
In short, this:
Richmond never claimed to care more about Gaetz's son than Gaetz. Gaetz has no children and only started pretending to have children after Richmond's claim. Therefore, you have no ground for complaint. Certainly nothing worth the condemnation and punishment you call for.
(I know I didn't really explain it so much as retype Oro's argument into a more mobile-friendly format, but you can still read it on your phone, so you can get a clear understanding of what he said)
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@PressF4Respect
The main crux of his argument (the part that directly counters your argument) is this:
- Then Gaetz falsely asserts Richmond is claiming to be more concerned about Gaetz family than Gaetz.
- Richmond said, If one of the black males getting killed by cops is Gaetz's then Richmond is objectively more concerned about his welfare than Gaetz.
Where did he say objectively.
- But none of the black males getting killed cops is Gaetz's so Richmond's conditional is not met and Richmond made no such claim.
So if a congressman with a black child was sitting in Gaetz’s place it would be wrong right
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@ILikePie5
I updated my previous post, just to let you know.
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@PressF4Respect
The whole crux of his claim was built on a hypothetical. If Gaetz had a son that was black he’d be more concerned that Gaetz as a father would be. That’s definitely false. You can’t say just because it was a hypothetical he wasn’t claiming that.
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@ILikePie5
Tell Oro that
(and see how he dissolves your argument point-by-point)
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@PressF4Respect
But you don't seem to understand mine: This whole debacle came as a result of Gaetz interrupting Richmond and going on a tangent to a completely unrelated topic.
I do understand which is why I asked if that justified what Richmond said in post #32
"so that justifies Cedric's response then, like the riots, looting and murders because a cop killed a guy, it's really all the same in my view, more or less, do you see it as all justified?"
you then quoted it in some slip post and then go full lefttard after that, for as smart as you think you are I'm not sure the difficulty you are having here, so I'll really dumb it down if I can.
Richmond got too personal by bring someone's child into the argument, the leftist here and elsewhere seem to use the childhood defense "he started it" by using children in such a manner or anyone's loved ones who aren't part of issue or politics can not claim any moral superiority, nor anyone who condones such behavior and thus the end of morality and civility, now I say the end because at this point no one can claim moral superiority due to all the ugliness and behavior that has been displayed. You see to be ok by justify it using the playground defense (I think I will use that phrase a lot now, I like it and it fits) You also add in what about Gaetz behavior. You seem find with historybuff calling his child a 'cabana boy' and whatever else he said about something he knows nothing about.
Now I'm going to use the privilege that you h.b. and oro seem to be ok with so you'll accept this as well right?
I'm a parent you are not so you can't understand what it would be like to have someone say anything about your children like Richmond did (I thought you saw this coming)
I'll assume you all had parents, because I'm a parent I care more for your parents than you do. (see what I did there) now let's see what that actually says and means.
if that's true that means you are a horrible son/daughter and a horrible person
if that's not true that means I think you are a horrible son/daughter and a horrible person
how could it not be one of those 2 things, I don't know your parent/parents, one would assume you love them to some degree generally speaking.
Imagine if I said this in front of your coworkers, friends, rivals, enemies AND that it would be shown on tv.
I'm not sure any of you three can really comprehend what I'm saying since you aren't parents.
edited to add
So... none of you are going to address #54? It's laid bare, right in front of your eyes.
I did the first time he wasted his time typing all of that out, it's irrelevant and I have no need to point out how and why, because you aren't a parent and can't understand.
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@Greyparrot
“Black people in the streets are getting killed and if one of them happens to be your kid, I’m concerned about him too. And clearly I’m more concerned about him than you are,”-Cedric RichmondIt's okay, because Cedric put him back on topic.not one person had condemned or punished him for what he said, when you can attack someone and involve their children in that setting without reprisal that should say a lot about the state of society. they have NO moral authority over President Trump.interesting how that furthers division and harmony in our society, gotta fire up the riots and looters I guess.
how that isn't painfully obvious I don't know, I've tried to explain it one last time, I can't dumb it down anymore because I don't know how, it's my failing. Regardless they don't see the their own hypocrisy of defending what he said but so readily jump on someone else who's offense is rather mild compared to this personal attack, but they never spoke out when they attacked a 14 year old Trump. Such classy people these leftist.
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@TheDredPriateRoberts
I said it before. Attacking someone's family is a tool of organized crime.
Imagine a world where CPS takes your child away due to your skin-color as a parent because...
"...Clearly I’m more concerned about [your child] than you are."
George Orwell saw this coming.
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@Greyparrot
I said it before. Attacking someone's family is a tool of organized crime.
no one in that clip attacked anyone's family. In fact he was being quite explicicit that he wanted to protect everyone's families. so please cut the straw mans.
Imagine a world where CPS takes your child away due to your skin-color as a parent because..."...Clearly I’m more concerned about [your child] than you are."
what the hell are you even talking about? They were discussing police reform. No one mentioned parenting at all, let alone CPS.
290 days later
The Justice Department is investigating whether Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida and a close ally of former President Donald J. Trump, broke federal sex trafficking laws, focusing on his relationships with women recruited online for sex and whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl, The New York Times reported this week.
Investigators appear to be focused on at least two key questions, according to people briefed on their work. The first is whether Mr. Gaetz, 38, had sex with the 17-year-old and whether she received anything of material value. More broadly, federal authorities are scrutinizing involvement by the congressman and an indicted Florida associate with the women, who also received cash payments.
Investigators appear to be focused on at least two key questions, according to people briefed on their work. The first is whether Mr. Gaetz, 38, had sex with the 17-year-old and whether she received anything of material value. More broadly, federal authorities are scrutinizing involvement by the congressman and an indicted Florida associate with the women, who also received cash payments.
Mr. Gaetz, a third-term congressman who represents the Florida Panhandle, has denied that he paid for sex or had a sexual relationship with a minor. So far, he has not been charged and the extent of his criminal exposure remains unclear. The investigation is continuing.
Here is what we know so far.
The investigation includes an examination of payments to women.
Federal scrutiny of Mr. Gaetz grew out of an open investigation into a close Republican associate of the congressman’s: Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector in Seminole County, Fla., who was indicted last year on a charge of sex trafficking and other counts.
Investigators believe that Mr. Greenberg connected with women online through websites meant to facilitate dates in exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and cash allowances. Mr. Greenberg would then introduce the women to Mr. Gaetz, who also had sex with them in Florida hotels, sometimes while taking ecstasy, an illegal mood-altering drug, according to people familiar with the encounters.
The Times also reviewed receipts from Apple Pay and another mobile payments app that show Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg transferring funds to one such woman, and Mr. Greenberg to another. The women told friends that the money was in exchange for sex.
While it is legal to pay for other adults’ hotel stays, meals and other gifts, prosecutors could try to prove that the payments were really in exchange for sex, which would be a crime.
Investigators are also trying to determine whether Mr. Gaetz, or any other men connected to him, had sex with the 17-year-old girl and gave her anything of value. Two people briefed on the investigation said the sex trafficking count that Mr. Greenberg is facing involved the same girl.
Federal law prohibits giving a minor anything of value in exchange for sex, including meals, hotel stays, drugs, alcohol or even cigarettes. A conviction under the sex trafficking statute carries a 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence.
Gaetz has denied wrongdoing related to sex
Mr. Gaetz, an outspoken and combative fixture of conservative media, has repeatedly dismissed the investigation as politically motivated and unfounded, defending his past relationships with women.
“I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward,” Mr. Gaetz said in an interview on Tuesday. He said he had not had a sexual relationship with a minor and called other accusations of wrongdoing “unequivocally false.”
“Matt Gaetz has never paid for sex,” his office said in a statement on Thursday, when asked to comment on possible sexual arrangements with women. “Matt Gaetz refutes all the disgusting allegations completely. Matt Gaetz has never ever been on any such websites whatsoever. Matt Gaetz cherishes the relationships in his past and looks forward to marrying the love of his life.”
Gaetz has claimed his family is being extorted. Not exactly.
The disclosure of a serious federal criminal investigation would typically prompt carefully vetted statements and studied silence in Washington. Mr. Gaetz has gone on a media tour instead, confirming the existence of the inquiry while shifting attention to another attention-grabbing claim: that his family is being targeted by two men trying to extort it for $25 million in exchange for making potential legal problems “go away.”
The men have denied that they were trying to extort the Gaetzes.
The men — Robert Kent, a former Air Force intelligence officer, and Stephen Alford, a real estate developer who has been convicted of fraud — did approach Mr. Gaetz’s father, Don Gaetz, last month about funding efforts to find an American hostage in Iran named Robert A. Levinson. Written records provided to The Times and interviews with people involved show that the men were aware of at least the prospect that Matt Gaetz could face legal jeopardy and suggested that Mr. Levinson’s successful return could help win the congressman a presidential pardon.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, broke federal sex trafficking laws.
- Mr. Gaetz, 38, was elected to Congress in 2016 and became one of President Donald J. Trump’s most outspoken advocates. The inquiry focuses on the representative’s relationships with women recruited online for sex and whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl.
- The investigation includes an examination of payments to women. Investigators believe that he paid for sex with a number of women he met through Joel Greenberg — a former Florida tax collector who was indicted last year on a federal sex trafficking charge, among other offenses — people close to the investigation told The New York Times.
- Mr. Gaetz has repeatedly dismissed the investigation as politically motivated and unfounded, defending his past relationships with women. So far, he has not been charged and the extent of his criminal exposure remains unclear. The investigation is continuing.
- The representative has claimed that his family is being targeted by two men trying to extort it for $25 million in exchange for making potential legal problems “go away.” The men have denied that they were trying to extort the Gaetzes.
- Mr. Gaetz told The Times that he had no plans to resign from Congress. But as the investigation continues, he could face pressure either to step down or temporarily relinquish his spot on the House committee that oversees the Justice Department
- Mr. Gaetz, 38, was elected to Congress in 2016 and became one of President Donald J. Trump’s most outspoken advocates. The inquiry focuses on the representative’s relationships with women recruited online for sex and whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl.
Don Gaetz declined their proposal, but then reported the approach to the F.B.I. out of concern it was possible extortion. The authorities now appear to be investigating the matter.
Mr. Kent said he had no intention of extorting the Gaetzes. By his account, he was merely proposing a business deal and believed a rumor he had heard about Matt Gaetz might help make it more attractive.
“I told him I’m not trying to extort, but if this were true, he might be interested in doing something good,” Mr. Kent said.
For now, Gaetz doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.
Mr. Gaetz told The Times in an interview this week that he had no plans to resign from Congress. But as the investigation continues, he could face pressure either to step down or temporarily relinquish his spot on the House committee that oversees the Justice Department.
“He should not be sitting on a Congressional Committee with oversight over the DOJ while the Department is investigating him,” Representative Ted Lieu, Democrat of California, wrote on Twitter.
Few Republicans have stood up for Mr. Gaetz, whose brash style long ago alienated many of his colleagues, but they do not appear to be trying to push him to the exits either, at least before federal investigators complete their work.
“Those are serious implications. If it comes out to be true, yes, we would remove him,” Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader, told Fox News this week. “But right now, Matt Gaetz says that it’s not true, and we don’t have any information. So let’s get all the information.”
Still, Mr. Gaetz himself may have other plans. Before the disclosure of the inquiry this week, the congressman had been openly discussing leaving the House to take a full-time job as a commentator at a conservative TV network, like Newsmax, according to people familiar with the conversations. Mr. Gaetz has been a fixture of conservative media, but his legal woes could complicate any plans he may have had before they became public.
In the meantime, nothing prevents Mr. Gaetz from continuing to do his regular congressional work, attending hearings, voting on legislation and receiving classified information every member of Congress is entitled to.
MATT GAETZ, LOYAL for YEARS to TRUMP, is SAID to HAVE SOUGHT a BLANKET PARDON
The congressman was at the time under investigation over whether he violated sex trafficking laws, though it was unclear what he knew of the inquiry.
By Michael S. Schmidt, Maggie Haberman and Nicholas Fandos
Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, was one of President Donald J. Trump’s most vocal allies during his term, publicly pledging loyalty and even signing a letter nominating the president for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In the final weeks of Mr. Trump’s term, Mr. Gaetz sought something in return. He privately asked the White House for blanket pre-emptive pardons for himself and unidentified congressional allies for any crimes they may have committed, according to two people told of the discussions.
Around that time, Mr. Gaetz was also publicly calling for broad pardons from Mr. Trump to thwart what he termed the “bloodlust” of their political opponents. But Justice Department investigators had begun questioning Mr. Gaetz’s associates about his conduct, including whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old that violated sex trafficking laws, in an inquiry that grew out of the case of an indicted associate in Florida.
It was unclear whether Mr. Gaetz or the White House knew at the time about the inquiry, or who else he sought pardons for. Mr. Gaetz did not tell White House aides that he was under investigation for potential sex trafficking violations when he made the request. But top White House lawyers and officials viewed the request for a pre-emptive pardon as a nonstarter that would set a bad precedent, the people said.
Aides told Mr. Trump of the request, though it is unclear whether Mr. Gaetz discussed the matter directly with the president. Mr. Trump ultimately pardoned dozens of allies and others in the final months of his presidency, highlighting his willingness to wield his power to help close supporters and lash out against the criminal justice system.
In recent days, some Trump associates have speculated that Mr. Gaetz’s request for a group pardon was an attempt to camouflage his own potential criminal exposure.
Either way, Mr. Gaetz’s appeal to the Trump White House shows how the third-term congressman sought to leverage an unlikely presidential relationship he had spent years cultivating.
Few Republicans in Congress became more closely associated with Mr. Trump during his presidency than Mr. Gaetz. Though he had initially supported his fellow Floridian Jeb Bush in the 2016 Republican primary race, Mr. Gaetz latched his political fortunes to Mr. Trump during the campaign and found stardom in the Republican Party, becoming one of Mr. Trump’s greatest defenders.
This account of Mr. Gaetz’s dealings with the Trump White House is based on interviews with four people briefed on the exchanges about his pardon request and other Trump confidants. A spokesman for Mr. Trump declined to comment.
Mr. Gaetz has denied having sex with a 17-year-old or paying for sex. A spokesman denied that he privately requested a pardon in connection with the continuing Justice Department inquiry.
“Entry-level political operatives have conflated a pardon call from Representative Gaetz — where he called for President Trump to pardon ‘everyone from himself, to his administration, to Joe Exotic’ — with these false and increasingly bizarre, partisan allegations against him,” the spokesman said in a statement. “Those comments have been on the record for some time, and President Trump even retweeted the congressman, who tweeted them out himself.”
Though Mr. Gaetz had little formal power in the House, where he remains a backbencher, he offered Mr. Trump what he craved and what Republican congressional leaders would not always offer: fierce loyalty and a taste for bare-knuckle political combat.
In his memoir published last fall, “Firebrand: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the MAGA Revolution,” Mr. Gaetz recalled his first one-on-one phone call with the president in late 2017. Mr. Trump had seen Mr. Gaetz on Fox News attacking Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, and thought he had heard an ally.
“I need warriors, you know what I mean?” the president told him.
Mr. Gaetz knew precisely. Though he came from the more conservative Florida Panhandle, the young congressman shared Mr. Trump’s taste for boasts, particularly about sexual exploits, and a knack for self-promotion. Neither was particularly impressed by the trappings of traditional power in Washington, and both were sons of powerful men.
Mr. Gaetz’s father, Don Gaetz, was the president of the Florida Senate and a wealthy businessman, and Mr. Trump’s father a successful real estate developer in New York.
After Democrats took back the House in 2018 and began cranking up pressure on the Trump administration, Mr. Gaetz emerged as a standout in what he called the “warrior class” of lawmakers who made it their mission to protect the president.
“The president has called me when I was in my car, asleep in the middle of the night on my Longworth Office cot, on the throne, on airplanes, in nightclubs, and even in the throes of passion (yes, I answered),” Mr. Gaetz boasted in his book.
When Democrats called Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former fixer, to testify against him in early 2019, Mr. Gaetz threatened to reveal what he said were extramarital affairs by Mr. Cohen. Democrats accused him of witness intimidation and the Florida Bar, of which Mr. Gaetz is a member, investigated.
Mr. Gaetz brought the first impeachment investigation into Mr. Trump, later that year, to a halt, albeit briefly, when he led dozens of Republican lawmakers into investigative hearing rooms and refused to leave.
Mr. Trump publicly singled out Mr. Gaetz, saying he was a “great talent, young, handsome,” thanking him for his advocacy on the president’s behalf and predicting Mr. Gaetz was “going places.”
Mr. Gaetz’s rise caught the Republican establishment off guard.
“He was not on people’s radar until he started showing up next to Trump at rallies,” said Alex Conant, a Republican political strategist and a former senior aide to Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
“The president would see him on Fox, defending the president, which was a good way to get close to the Trump White House,” Mr. Conant added. “A lot of members tried to do that. Matt Gaetz did exceptionally well.”
The Justice Department is investigating whether Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, broke federal sex trafficking laws.
- Mr. Gaetz, 38, was elected to Congress in 2016 and became one of President Donald J. Trump’s most outspoken advocates. The inquiry focuses on the representative’s relationships with women recruited online for sex and whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl.
- The investigation includes an examination of payments to women. Investigators believe that he paid for sex with a number of women he met through Joel Greenberg — a former Florida tax collector who was indicted last year on a federal sex trafficking charge, among other offenses — people close to the investigation told The New York Times.
- Mr. Gaetz has repeatedly dismissed the investigation as politically motivated and unfounded, defending his past relationships with women. So far, he has not been charged and the extent of his criminal exposure remains unclear. The investigation is continuing.
- The representative has claimed that his family is being targeted by two men trying to extort it for $25 million in exchange for making potential legal problems “go away.” The men have denied that they were trying to extort the Gaetzes.
- Mr. Gaetz told The Times that he had no plans to resign from Congress. But as the investigation continues, he could face pressure either to step down or temporarily relinquish his spot on the House committee that oversees the Justice Department.
- Mr. Gaetz, 38, was elected to Congress in 2016 and became one of President Donald J. Trump’s most outspoken advocates. The inquiry focuses on the representative’s relationships with women recruited online for sex and whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl.
Mr. Gaetz embraced his role after the president lost last year’s election, trying to discredit the result and overturn it in Congress. He also privately and publicly attacked Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a leading Republican critic of Mr. Trump’s incitement of the Capitol rioters.
But by then, federal investigators were asking witnesses about Mr. Gaetz’s ties to a 17-year-old girl whom investigators believed had sex with Mr. Gaetz and was paid, people close to the investigation have said. The interviews grew out of a case the Justice Department began making last summer against a local Florida tax collector who has been indicted on a range of charges, including sex trafficking of a minor. He has pleaded not guilty and is set to go to trial this year.
Two weeks after Mr. Trump lost re-election, Mr. Gaetz called on him to “pardon everyone” before he left office or they would be targeted by the “radical left.”
“He should pardon the Thanksgiving turkey,” Mr. Gaetz said of Mr. Trump on Fox News. “He should pardon everyone from himself to his administration officials to Joe Exotic if he has to,” Mr. Gaetz added, referring to the gun-toting zoo owner in the Netflix series “Tiger King” who was convicted in a murder-for-hire plot.
Mr. Gaetz added: “You see from the radical left a bloodlust that will only be quenched if they come after the people who worked so hard to animate the Trump administration with the policies and the vigor and the effectiveness that delivered for the American people.” He later tweeted the clip.
Shortly after Mr. Trump left office, Mr. Gaetz publicly floated the idea of quitting Congress to defend Mr. Trump in impeachment, but Mr. Trump’s advisers showed no interest.
Since the existence of the investigation was publicly revealed last week, Mr. Trump and his close allies have mostly remained silent. Mr. Trump’s advisers have urged him to stay quiet and sought to distance the former president from Mr. Gaetz.
Though Mr. Trump wielded his clemency power in self-serving ways unlike any other president, a blanket pardon for Mr. Gaetz would have stood out because it failed to specify the crimes being pardoned and lacked the “public healing” justifications for rare such past exercises of the pardon authority, said Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor who tracked Mr. Trump’s pardons.
“If Trump had granted it, which he didn’t,” Mr. Goldsmith said, “the pardon would have on some dimensions been the most audacious of his many audacious pardons.”
JOEL GREENBERG CLAIMED to HAVE EXPLOSIVES DURING HOURS-LONG NEGOTIATION, RECORDS SAY
The former Seminole County tax collector made suicidal comments, “stating at various times that he would take pills, utilize firearms, and that he had improvised explosive devices,” a report said.
By Jeff Weiner Orlando Sentinel (TNS)
ORLANDO — Former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg claimed to have explosive devices and threatened to harm himself while negotiating his surrender with deputy sheriffs in early March, which delayed for hours his arrest for violating his bond conditions, newly released records state.
In an incident report, Seminole County Deputy Jerome Grunat wrote that when he arrived at Greenberg’s home in Heathrow about 9:20 p.m. on March 2, the former county tax collector initially said via phone that he would exit his home “after a short period of time,” but that time came and went.
During subsequent phone negotiations, Greenberg made suicidal comments, “stating at various times that he would take pills, utilize firearms, and that he had improvised explosive devices,” Grunat wrote.
The deputy described erratic behavior by Greenberg, who at one point opened his front door, threw a bag of medication onto the driveway, then retreated back inside, according to the report. Greenberg later surrendered after “several hours of negotiation,” the report said.
The document, which was first reported by WFTV-TV, sheds new light on Greenberg’s behavior at the time of his arrest.
Though he was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation after making suicide threats, the Sheriff’s Office confirmed he was not placed under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows for a person who is determined to be a threat to themselves or others to be temporarily admitted for mental health assessment.
After being evaluated, Greenberg was booked into the Seminole County jail, agency spokesperson Kim Cannaday confirmed.
Asked whether Greenberg’s home was searched for explosive devices or other weapons, Cannaday said deputies were only there to assist U.S. Marshals with taking Greenberg into custody. The report did not indicate that Greenberg had threatened anyone.
The U.S. Marshals Office of Public Affairs did not immediately return a call seeking more information.
Greenberg is currently in the Orange County Jail as he awaits trial on 33 federal charges, including stalking, identity theft, wire fraud, bribery, theft of government property, conspiracy to bribe a public official, creating fake IDs and sex trafficking of a minor.
The case has drawn national attention after it was reported last week by The New York Times that the investigation of Greenberg had led federal authorities to also target U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and prominent ally of former President Donald Trump, for potential sex trafficking offenses. Gaetz denies all wrongdoing.
Greenberg was initially released on bond after his arrest in June but was jailed in early March after authorities said he violated his conditions of release by driving to South Florida to look for his wife.
Greenberg left his Heathrow home just before 5 a.m. Feb. 28 and drove to his mother-in-law’s condo in Jupiter in search of Abby Greenberg, according to a police report. At the time, he was under an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and not allowed to travel outside the Middle District of Florida, which stretches across the state from the Fort Myers area to Jacksonville.
His mother-in-law later called police to say that Greenberg had shown up uninvited and asked that he be removed, the report said.
Abby Greenberg, who was not at her mother’s home at the time, told police that she left the couple’s Seminole County home to “take a break from the stressful situation with Joel,” the report said. She added that Greenberg tracked her using her Snapchat social media account.
A background check revealed to Jupiter police that Greenberg was under federal probation. An officer didn’t arrest Greenberg on the spot, however, because he was unable to reach Greenberg’s probation officer to determine if he was allowed to travel to Jupiter.
The documents released by the Sheriff’s Office Tuesday also revealed another brush with law enforcement by Joel Greenberg, this one in November.
Deputies were called to a disturbance at the couple’s home late Nov. 13, a report states, after an argument between them in which Joel Greenberg falsely accused his wife of assaulting him. Home security footage showed that she had not hit him, the report said.
Greenberg was reportedly calm while interacting with deputies and said he’d considered calling Seminole Sheriff Dennis Lemma about the incident but decided against it. Deputies determined no crime had occurred.
Mar 30, 2021
Matt Gaetz Interview Transcript on Sex Trafficking Allegations
Rep. Matt Gaetz went on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show on March 30 to respond to allegations of sex trafficking. The New York Times reported that the Justice Department is investigating Gaetz “over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him.” Gaetz denied the allegations and says there was an extortion attempt. Read the transcript here.
Tucker Carlson: (00:00)
Just a couple of hours ago, late this afternoon, the New York Times ran a story saying that Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz is under federal investigation for playing some role in sex trafficking and potentially having a relationship with a 17 year old girl. There are very few details in major news outlets tonight about this story. We have no background on at all and not even any very informed questions. Instead, we’ve invited Congressman Gaetz on the show to respond to these stories and give us his view of them. Congressman, thanks so much for coming on. Appreciate it. So, this is obviously a serious allegation. Tell us what the truth is from your perspective.
Matt Gaetz: (00:41)
It is a horrible allegation and it is a lie. The New York Times is running a story that I have traveled with a 17 year old woman and that is verifiably false. People can look at my travel records and see that that is not the case. What is happening is an extortion of me and my family involving a former Department of Justice official. On March 16th my father got a text message demanding a meeting, wherein a person demanded $25 million in exchange for making horrible sex trafficking allegations against me go away. Our family was so troubled by that we went to the local FBI and the FBI and the Department of Justice were so concerned about this attempted extortion of a member of Congress that they asked my dad to wear a wire, which he did with the former Department of Justice official. Tonight I am demanding that the Department of Justice and the FBI release the audio recordings that were made under their supervision and at their direction, which will prove my innocence.
Matt Gaetz: (01:44)
And that will show that these allegations aren’t true. They’re merely intended to try to bleed my family out of money. And this former Department of Justice official tomorrow was supposed to be contacted by my father, so that specific instructions could be given regarding the wiring of $4.5 million as a down payment on this bribe. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that tonight, somehow the New York Times is leaking this information, smearing me and ruining the investigation that would likely result in one of the former colleagues of the current DOJ being brought to justice for trying to extort me and my family.
Tucker Carlson: (02:25)
So, a couple of obvious questions that come to mind. And again, just to restate this just happened. Don’t have any other information beyond what we’ve already said and you have said. First of all, who is this Department of Justice former employee who’s trying to extort the money from you, you say?
Matt Gaetz: (02:39)
His name is David McGee. He was a top official in the leadership in the Northern district of Florida as a prosecutor. He currently works at the Beggs & Lane law firm. 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 Carlson: (03:14)
So, I’ll get the investigation in a sec, but you’re saying that David McGee was motivated by greed. He was trying to extort money from your family. That’s his motivation you’re saying.
Matt Gaetz: (03:27)
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-conspirators. They even claim to have specific connections inside the Biden 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’m not seeking a pardon. I’ve not done anything improper or wrong, but what I am troubled by is the real motivation for all of this. Just tonight Ted Lieu, a Democrat, is calling on me to be removed from the house judiciary committee. And I believe we are in an era of our politics now Tucker, where people are smeared to try to take them out of the conversation.
Matt Gaetz: (04:08)
I’m not the only person on screen right now who has been falsely accused of a terrible sex act. You were accused of something that you did not do. And so, you know what this feels like, the pain that can bring to your family and you know how it just puts people on defense when you’re accused of something, so salacious and awful. But it did not happen. It is not true. And the fact that it is the basis of this attempt to extort my family, tells a lot. And if the FBI and Department of Justice will release the tapes that they are in possession of, the American people will see what is really going on.
Tucker Carlson: (04:41)
You just referred to a mentally ill viewer who accused me of a sex crime 20 years ago. And of course it was not true, I’d never met the person. But I do agree with you that being accused falsely is one of the worst things that can happen. And you do see it a lot. Let’s go back to the investigation. You say that it was or is underway, there was an investigation. What is the basis of that investigation? What is the allegation? That really not very clear from these news stories?
Matt Gaetz: (05:10)
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. You’ll remember her. And she was actually threatened by the FBI, told that if she wouldn’t cop to the fact that somehow I was involved in some pay for play scheme, that she could face trouble. And so, I do believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to smear me. Providing for flights and hotel rooms for people that you’re dating who are of legal age is not a crime. And I’m just troubled that the lack of any sort of legitimate investigation into me would then permute would then convert into this extortion attempt.
Tucker Carlson: (05:58)
I don’t remember the woman you’re speaking of or the context at all, honestly, but I would like to know who… So, they’re saying there is a 17 year old girl who you had a relationship with. Is that true? And who is this girl? What are they talking about the New York Times?
Matt Gaetz: (06:14)
The person doesn’t exist. I have not had a relationship with a 17 year old. That is totally false. The allegation I read in the New York Times is that I’ve traveled with some 17 year old in some relationship. That is false and records will bear that out to be false.
Tucker Carlson: (06:30)
How long has this investigation been going on? Do you know?
Matt Gaetz: (06:34)
I don’t know.
Tucker Carlson: (06:36)
When were you first informed of it?
Matt Gaetz: (06:39)
Again, I really saw this as a deeply troubling challenge for my family on March 16th when people were talking about a minor and that there were pictures of me with child prostitutes. That’s obviously false. There will be no such pictures because no such thing happened. But really on March 16th was when this got going from the extortion standpoint.
Tucker Carlson: (07:05)
So, what happens next? I mean you can see there is this investigation, I guess a criminal investigation. I’m not quite sure what the sex trafficking part comes in. I don’t again for the fifth time, I don’t really understand this story very well. But where does it go from here? I mean you’ve made an allegation against someone by name on the air and accused him of trying to extort millions of dollars from your family. What what happens tomorrow?
Matt Gaetz: (07:28)
Well what was supposed to happen was the transfer of this money that would have implicated the former colleague of these current DOJ officials. But that’s obviously not going to happen tomorrow because the New York Times story was leaked in order to quell that investigative effort. So, here’s what needs to happen next. The FBI and the Department of Justice must release the tapes that are in their possession, that were done at their direction. Those tapes will show that I am innocent and that the whole concept of sex charges against me was really just a way to try to bleed my family out of money and probably smear my name because I am a well-known outspoken, conservative, and I guess that’s out of style in a lot of parts of the country right now.
Tucker Carlson: (08:12)
Matt Gaetz, I appreciate your coming on tonight.
Matt Gaetz: (08:14)
Thanks for giving me the chance to tell the truth. I appreciate it.
Tucker Carlson: (08:17)
It’s a more interesting and complicated story than that I knew from reading about it. Thank you very much. Matt Gaetz interview, that was one of the weirdest interviews I’ve ever conducted. That story just appeared in the news a couple of hours ago and on the certainty that there’s always more than you read in the newspaper we immediately called Matt Gaetz and asked him to come on and tell us more, which is you saw he did. I don’t think that clarified much but it certainly showed this as a deeply interesting story and we’ll be following it. Don’t quite understand it but we’ll bring you more when we find out.