CRIME
Text Messages Show Matt Gaetz’s ‘Wingman’ Arranging Meetings Involving the Congressman, Women and Drugs
Text messages and Facebook messages obtained by ABC News show Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz’s wingman, Joel Greenberg, arranging meetings with women for himself and the congressman through “sugar daddy” websites.
Greenberg, who pleaded guilty in May to sex-trafficking of a minor and several other federal charges, reportedly has been cooperating with prosecutors. Investigators believe it was Greenberg who met women through online “sugar daddy” websites and then introduced the women to Gaetz, who also had sex with them.
According to ABC News, Greenberg “has provided investigators with years of Venmo and Cash App transactions and thousands of photos and videos, as well as access to personal social media accounts.”
In one of the text message exchanges obtained by the network, from 2018, Greenberg appeared to arrange payment for a woman and ask whether she took drugs.
“I have a friend flying in and we are trying to make plans for tonight. What are your plans for later.” Greenberg reportedly wrote to the woman, referring to Gaetz. “And how much of an allowance will you be requiring :)”
The woman responded by saying she had “a friend who introduced (her) to the website that (she) could bring,” adding that she typically charges “$400 per meet.”
Greenberg then sent the woman a photo of Gaetz taking a selfie with students at Pea Ridge Elementary and wrote, “My friend,” ABC News reports.
“Oooh my friend thinks he’s really cute!” the woman responded.
Greenberg told the woman that Gaetz was “down here only for the day,” and that “we work and and play hard.”
“Have you ever tried molly,” he wrote, referring to the drug MDMA.
The woman ask if Gaetz used the same website that he had used to meet her.
“He knows the deal :),” Greenberg responded, adding that he would book a “suite Downtown.”
In another Facebook message exchange, also from 2018, Greenberg organized a gathering involving Gaetz and women he had been paying for sex at the home of Jason Pirozzolo — the Florida hand doctor who is also a subject of the FBI’s sprawling probe — which he referred to as “our safe place.”
“You should come meet the group,” Greenberg wrote to an unidentified Florida media entrepreneur. “I think it would be a wise investment of time. You might already know Jason Pirrazolo … but I’d like for you to meet Congressman Matt Gaetz. Gaetz is a wild man, but great dude.”
Greenberg added that the gathering would include “6-7 chicks” and “just 3-4 guys.”
Gaetz has not been charged with any crime and has repeatedly denied allegations related to the ongoing federal probe.
In a statement to ABC News, Gaetz spokesman Harlan Hill said: “After months of media coverage, not one woman has come forward to accuse Rep. Gaetz of wrongdoing. Not even President Biden can say that. That others might invite people unbeknownst to a U.S. Congressman to functions he may or may not attend is the everyday life of a political figure. Your story references people the congressman doesn’t know, things he hasn’t done and messages he neither sent nor received. Rep. Gaetz addressed the debunked allegations against him — and their origin in an extortion plot — during his Firebrand podcast episode last week. People should download and watch.”
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
 |
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.
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.
Fulton County sheriff’s office releases Rudy Giuliani’s mugshot pic.twitter.com/NHoQdAuCT5
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) August 23, 2023
Booking photos of Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell. pic.twitter.com/isyWaGJupG
— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) August 23, 2023
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:
“You don’t get immunity for two years in the run-up to an election just by saying, ‘Hey, I’m a candidate’ … These investigations have been going on for a while. Everyone knew about them, even before he announced his candidacy.”
— Former Attorney General Bill Barr on Trump pic.twitter.com/yhDft2bZ7W
— The Recount (@therecount) August 17, 2023
Barr: The federal cases are legitimate. At the end of the day, the core of this, he engaged in (in the case of the documents) outrageous behavior that anybody would be prosecuted. I don’t know of any Attorney General who could walk away from it pic.twitter.com/8ijyPiDjLL
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 17, 2023
CRIME
Special Counsel Wanted Trump’s Twitter Direct Messages When He Obtained a Search Warrant: Report
Special Counsel Jack Smith obtained a search warrant for access to Donald Trump’s Twitter account in January, but was looking for non-public information from the account.
That non-public information was Trump’s direct messages, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reports, noting there were “many.” DMs are private.
Smith, who has already obtained indictments against Donald Trump for the ex-president’s removal and refusal to return classified documents and for the ex-president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, appears to have accessed an important resource.
“The special counsel was seeking Trump’s direct messages on Twitter, of which there were many, federal prosecutors and lawyers for Twitter revealed in newly unsealed transcripts from hearings about the search warrant,” Collins reported Tuesday evening.
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said, “I’m surprised that Trump had “many” direct messages. Given that he doesn’t use text and email, they could more directly reveal his intent than other evidence Jack Smith has.”
Experts have wondered why Smith would have wanted access to Trump’s Twitter account, which was suspended after the 2021 insurrection. Elon Musk, who bought Twitter in late 2022, has since reinstated Trump’s account, but the ex-president has not made any public posts on the social media site, now renamed X.
Noted technologist John Gruber last week when news broke that Smith had obtained a search warrant for Trump’s Twitter account wrote, “I’m keenly interested in what the search warrant was after. It wasn’t Trump’s tweets, which are public.”
“So the obvious conclusion: his direct messages. Trump, famously, does not use email and, until this year, apparently didn’t use text messaging either. But did he send or receive DMs on Twitter? And was he stupid enough to put anything incriminating in them?”
“We also know,” Gruber continued, “that ‘deleted’ tweets were just hidden, not actually deleted — and a bug resulted in deleted tweets resurfacing. Was that (or is it still) true for ‘deleted’ direct messages as well? I think it’s quite likely that every single DM ever sent on Twitter is still around.”
A filing had said “the court ‘found probable cause to search the Twitter account for evidence of criminal offenses,’” according to an Associated Press report last week.
Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license
‘Scared to Death’: Trump’s Prison Panic Admission Means He Knows He’s Doomed Says Legal Expert
‘Vulgar and Lewd’: Trump Judge Cites Extremist Group to Allow Drag Show Ban
Gaetz Praises GOP Congressman Who Echoes His Call for Change ‘Through Force’
‘See How Easy That Is to Say?’: GOP Mocked for ‘Weaponization’ of DOJ Claims as Democratic Senator Gets Indicted
‘Corruption of the Highest Order’: Experts ‘Sickened’ at ‘Definitely Bought’ Clarence Thomas and His ‘Pay to Play’ Lifestyle
News3 days agoPete Buttigieg Just Testified Before Congress. It Did Not Go Well for Republicans.
News2 days ago‘Corruption of the Highest Order’: Experts ‘Sickened’ at ‘Definitely Bought’ Clarence Thomas and His ‘Pay to Play’ Lifestyle
COMMENTARY3 days ago‘Good Riddance’: Experts Blame Rupert Murdoch for ‘Intellectual and Moral Decay’ of America, Issue Warning on Future
News3 days ago‘Sexy’: Comer Obtains Unredacted Emails to VP Biden Revealing Women ‘Privately Mused’ They Found Him Attractive
News3 days ago‘Just Want to Burn the Whole Place Down’: McCarthy Rails Against House Republicans as GOP Conference Explodes in Chaos
COMMENTARY3 days ago‘Total Breakdown’: House Sends Members Home – Experts Warn ‘Republicans Can’t Govern’ And Have No ‘Working Majority’
News2 days ago‘Total Nonsense’: Joe Scarborough Pours Cold Water on Panic Over Kamala Harris in 2024
COMMENTARY2 days ago‘See How Easy That Is to Say?’: GOP Mocked for ‘Weaponization’ of DOJ Claims as Democratic Senator Gets Indicted