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Gaetz Allegedly Used ATMs in Hotels Where He Met Women He Paid – Could Face 10 Year Mandatory Jail Sentence: Report

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‘Reporting Is Likely Just the Tip of the Iceberg’

After the additional flood of reporting Thursday night it appears U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) could be in even more serious trouble than initially thought, including facing a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years. But all the news we have now might just be the “tip of the iceberg,” a New York Times reporter is hinting.

Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Friday, New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt says not only did the Florida Congressman allegedly use cash apps to pay for sex, he even used hotel lobby ATMs, not even bothering to cover his tracks.

“They were not taking great steps to hide these. Gaetz or Greenberg would go to an ATM in the hotel that they were in – they would often meet these women in hotels,” Schmidt revealed.

According to reports in The New York Times and CNN, Gaetz allegedly not only paid women for sex he used cash apps to fuel those encounters, leaving a digital trail of receipts. The Times late Thursday also reported Gaetz allegedly used the illegal drug ecstasy during sex.

“We were able to see some of the communications, the back and forth that was going on, how these women were being paid or being paid,” Schmidt told MSNBC.  “They were being paid through apps on their phone, through cash apps, through Apple Pay.”

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance revealed the DOJ investigation has been going on even longer than first thought, likely since January of 2020, as she laid out the “criminal exposure” Gaetz could be facing.

“There are a lot of different possibilities for federal criminal exposure for the Congressman related to this series of facts and something that I’ve heard [NY Times reporter Michael Schmidt] say before, that’s very true, is that the reporting is likely just the tip of the iceberg for this to have gone so far, and to become a full blown federal investigation, there’s some reports that the initial tip took place in January of 2020, so this would be a year-long investigation, if that pans out,” Vance revealed. “And it’s likely that there’s a great deal more to back this up.”

“There is a specific statute that criminalizes particularly when it comes to children and girls, the use of the Internet or any sorts of interstate means to entice, to lure, girls into this sort of commercial sex trafficking, but there’s a whole panoply of federal statutes that are designed to address this, and most importantly, federal prosecutors take these sorts of crimes very seriously,” she warned.

 

 

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CRIME

Seattle Police Didn’t Provide Access to Lawyers 96% of the Time: Report

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4 months ago

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December 26, 2023

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The Seattle Police Department violated the law and didn’t give people under 18 access to a lawyer when it was supposed to 96% of the time, according to a new report released Friday by the city’s Office of the Inspector General.

The OIG audited the Seattle Police Department on its compliance with two laws, a city-level law called the MiChance Dunlap-Gittens Ordinance and a similar state law, RCW 13.40.740. The laws require police give those under 18 years old access to a public defender before the youth waives their right to remain silent. Police also must provide attorney access when requesting consent for a search, according to the OIG.

The OIG examined 89 arrests and found 50 cases where the laws applied. In those cases, access to an attorney was only provided twice. The OIG broke the interactions into four categories: Custodial Interrogation, which made up half of the cases; Consent to Search, 3 cases; Detained and Questioned, 7 cases; and Arrested, No Evidence of Questioning, 15 cases. Both of the instances where attorney access was provided were in this last category.

READ MORE: DOJ Report Says Louisville Police Needlessly Use Tasers & Dogs on Civilians

In an appendix, the OIG laid out eight recommendations, including updating the Seattle Police Department’s policy manual, requiring officers to “make a good faith effort” to check the age of the person detained, and to perform regular internal audits on whether or not the law is being followed by officers.

SPD’s chief operating officer, Brian Maxey, said it was sometimes difficult to determine if someone is legally a minor, according to the Times, but admitted that “in some instances there are clear gaps in officers’ understanding of the laws and inconsistencies in practice.”

The law is named for MiChance Dunlap-Gittens, a high school senior shot in 2017 following a botched sting operation. King County sheriff’s detectives investigating a homicide attempted to create a sting to catch a suspect. Dunlap-Gitten was killed when he attempted to flee. The suspect the detectives were after also fled, but was caught by a SWAT team that night, according to the Seattle Times. However, neither teenager was involved at all in the homicide under investigation.

Dunlap-Gittens’ death led to a $2.5 million ruling against King County in 2020. In addition to the victim’s family receiving the money, the sheriff at the time apologized and promised to make her officers wear body cameras and use dash cameras, according to the Times. Shortly following the settlement, the Seattle City Council passed the ordinance. A similar ordinance also went before the King County Council. A year later, RCW 13.40.740 passed the State Legislature.

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CRIME

Giuliani Booking Photo Released

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8 months ago

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August 23, 2023

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Former Trump attorney and former Republican Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani was booked in Fulton County, Georgia Wednesday afternoon on racketeering charges and charges related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

He was released on a $150,000 bond after being arraigned on 13 charges.

“Conditions include prohibitions against intimidating co-defendants or witnesses, and against communicating with co-defendants other than through their lawyers. Giuliani must check in with pretrial services every 30 days,” USA Today reports.

READ MORE: ‘Wrong on the Law, Wrong on the Facts’: Fani Willis Smacks Down Jeff Clark’s Legal Move in Scathing Response

Former Trump attorneys Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell were also booked and their photos have been made public as well.

See all three mug shots below or at this link.

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CRIME

‘Moral Turpitude’: Bill Barr Hammers Donald Trump

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8 months ago

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August 17, 2023

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Former Trump Attorney General Bill Barr delivered one of his harshest criticisms to date of his former boss on Thursday, accusing Donald Trump of “moral turpitude.”

“You know, you don’t get immunity for two years in the run-up to an election just by saying, ‘Hey, I’m a candidate,'” Barr told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto.

“These investigations have been going on for a while, everyone knew about them even before he announced his candidacy,” Barr continued. “So if there’s a chance to get it resolved before the election, it should be because the American people should know these are crimes involved – or potential crimes – involving moral turpitude.”

Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute says moral turpitude is “wicked, deviant behavior constituting an immoral, unethical, or unjust departure from ordinary social standards such that it would shock a community.”

READ MORE: ‘Truly Scandalous: Jim Jordan Slammed by Former Top DOJ Official

Barr also talked about the two federal cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, one for Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, and one for his refusal to return classified and other documents.

“I think the federal cases are legitimate,” Barr said. “At the end of the day, at the core of this thing he engaged in – in the case of the documents – in outrageous behavior where anyone would be prosecuted. I don’t know of any attorney general who could walk away from it.”

“He’s not being prosecuted for having the documents, he’s being prosecuted for obstruction, two egregious instances are alleged so I think that’s a very simple case.”

Barr also said for him, Trump “crossed the line” when “he used this device of impaneling imposter electors, swearing that they were the electors, but the key point there was, they were in tandem with a plan whereby the vice president would use that as a pretext for nullifying the legal and certified votes. So it was a calculated and deceitful plan to remain in office by nullifying and negating certified legal votes.”

Watch the videos below or at this link:

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