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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gaetz and Luckey met in March 2020 at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9102343/Matt-Gaetz-engaged-Californian-food-analyst.html">Luckey told the Daily Mail</a>.</li><li>Gaetz is currently under federal investigation for sex crimes across multiple states.</li><li>Former Rand Paul staffer Sergio Gor officiated the ceremony. </li></ul>US Rep. <keyword id="11923746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="matt-gaetz" source="Orion">Matt Gaetz</keyword> announced on Twitter that he and <keyword id="11923747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ginger-luckey" source="Orion">Ginger Luckey</keyword> eloped to Southern <keyword id="11892889" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="california" source="Orion">California</keyword> over the weekend, <a href="https://twitter.com/mattgaetz/status/1429264933712134145">sharing a picture of the pair</a> with the caption, "I love my wife!"Luckey, 26, works as an <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginger-luckey-ab8410a8/">analyst for biotech company Apeel Sciences</a> and is the sister of Palmer Luckey, founder of Facebook-acquired Oculus VR, who supported and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/palmer-luckey-donald-trump-fundraisiner-reelection-campaign-2020-10">hosted fundraisers for former President Donald Trump</a>. She met Gaetz in March 2020 at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, where they eventually <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9102343/Matt-Gaetz-engaged-Californian-food-analyst.html">got engaged 10 months later</a>, Luckey told the Daily Mail.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-criminal-defense-attorney-jeffrey-epstein-2021-7">Matt Gaetz's campaign paid $25K to a Manhattan criminal defense lawyer who represented Jeffrey Epstein, new records show</a>Following a few campaign stops in the Midwest with US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Gaetz and Luckey tied the knot in a small ceremony on <keyword id="11923748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="catalina-island" source="Orion">Catalina Island</keyword>, just 22 miles off the coast of Southern California, <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/08/matt-gaetz-ginger-luckey-eloped">Vanity Fair reported</a>.Only a few dozen attended, including former Rand Paul staffer Sergio Gor, who was both the officiant and DJ. Other attendees included Palmer Luckey and his wife, "Bannon's War Room" hosts Raheem Kassam and Natalie Winters, and Nestor Galban, Gaetz's adopted son, <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/08/matt-gaetz-ginger-luckey-eloped">according to Vanity Fair</a>.Gaetz, a Republican who has represented Florida's 1st Congressional District since 2017, is currently being investigated as part of a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/greenberg-set-up-meeting-for-him-gaetz-with-woman-charging-400-report-2021-8">sex trafficking probe</a> alongside his former right-hand man, Joel Greenberg. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/us/politics/matt-gaetz-justice-department.html">The New York Times reported</a> that the inquiry is focusing on their interactions with "multiple women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments" across multiple states.Greenberg was indicted on 33 criminal counts and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gaetz-associate-joel-greenberg-doj-plead-guilty-6-felony-counts-2021-5">struck a plea deal in May</a>, pleading guilty to six felony counts of sex trafficking, wire fraud, identity theft, conspiracy, and stalking.Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.

Matt Gaetz and his girlfriend Ginger Luckey eloped in California

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gaetz told Vanity Fair he asked for <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword>'s approval before proposing to his now-wife <keyword id="11923747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ginger-luckey" source="Orion">Ginger Luckey</keyword>. </li><li>Gaetz, 39, and Luckey, 26, met at Mar-a-Lago in March 2020 and got engaged there in December 2020. </li><li>Federal investigators are currently probing whether the <keyword id="11910362" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="florida" source="Orion">Florida</keyword> congressman paid a 17-year-old girl for sex. </li></ul>Rep. <keyword id="11923746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="matt-gaetz" source="Orion">Matt Gaetz</keyword> said he asked for former President Donald Trump's approval before proposing to his now-wife Ginger Luckey, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-ginger-luckey-elope-california-married-catalina-island-2021-8">with whom he eloped</a> over the weekend <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-timeline-allegations-sex-trafficking-joel-greenberg-doj-investigation-2021-5">amid a federal sex trafficking probe</a>.The Florida Republican, 39, and Luckey, 26, met at a dinner at Mar-a-Lago in March 2020 and the two got engaged at the same Trump-owned resort on December 30, 2020. "You never want to upstage the big guy," Gaetz <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/08/matt-gaetz-ginger-luckey-eloped">told Vanity Fair</a>, adding that Trump called him and his then-fiance "a dynamic duo" and sent a bottle of his company's champagne to their table. Gaetz is under federal investigation as part of the inquiry that led his close friend, Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole county, Florida tax collector, to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-05-17/matt-gaetz-associate-joel-greenberg-pleads-guilty-sex-trafficking">plead guilty</a>to six federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a child. As part of his plea deal, Greenberg is continuing to cooperate with federal investigators on a larger sex trafficking probe. Gaetz is being investigated for allegedly violating sex trafficking laws and having sex with a 17-year-old girl. He's denied any wrongdoing. The couple previously said they'd get married in August 2022, but instead eloped on Saturday on Catalina Island in California with about 40 guests in attendance. Luckey's mother, Julie Luckey, is active in GOP <keyword id="11893346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics" source="Orion">politics</keyword> and had donated to Gaetz's campaign before she brought her daughter to the March 2020 Mar-a-Lago event, which featured a slew of other MAGA leaders. Ginger Luckey, who is based in California and works for a biotech start up, is the sister of Palmer Luckey, who sold his VR company to Facebook for $3 billion in 2014. Ginger's younger sister, Roxanne, made headlines last month when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-fiancee-sister-roxanne-luckey-calls-weird-creepy-2021-7">she called Gaetz a "literal pedophile"</a> and said Gaetz tried to set her up with his 40-year-old friend when she was 19.

Matt Gaetz says he asked for Trump's approval before proposing to Ginger Luckey, who eloped with him amid a sex trafficking probe

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The sister of Rep. <keyword id="4142242" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="matt-gaetz">Matt Gaetz</keyword>'s fiancée posted TikToks this week calling him "weird" and "creepy."</li><li>Roxanne Luckey said Gaetz pushed an older friend to ask her out when she was 19.</li><li>Luckey also said she was "not surprised" to learn Gaetz was facing a sex-trafficking investigation.</li></ul>Rep. Matt Gaetz's future sister-in-law said on <keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword> this week that the Florida congressman's behavior was "weird" and "creepy" as the FBI and Justice Department investigate whether he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-extortion-investigation-explainer-timeline-2021-3">broke sex-trafficking laws</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-paid-minor-for-sex-joel-greenberg-letter-report-2021-4">had a sexual relationship with a minor</a>.Roxanne Luckey, 20, is the younger sister of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-fiance-ginger-luckey-harvard-business-school-2021-4">Ginger Luckey</a>, Gaetz's fiancée. Roxanne's TikTok account has since been made private, but Insider viewed recordings on Twitter and YouTube.In a <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/matt-gaetzs-future-sister-in-law-says-hes-a-gaslighting-creep?ref=home">statement to The Daily Beast</a>, <keyword id="11031994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ginger-luckey">Ginger Luckey</keyword> said her sister had a history of "destructive behavior."When reached for comment by Insider, a spokesperson for Gaetz said the congressman "supports his fiancée and her statement."Ginger Luckey and Roxanne Luckey did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.<h2>What the videos say</h2>In her first video, posted Sunday, Roxanne Luckey showed a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/us/politics/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-investigation.html">New York Times article</a> that said the DOJ was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/justice-department-investigating-matt-gaetz-sexual-relationship-17-year-old-2021-3">investigating</a> whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. He's <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/31/982909698/rep-gaetz-denies-allegation-claims-hes-victim-of-extortion-plot">denied any wrongdoing</a>.The caption of the video said: "When a creepy old man tries to hit on you at the bar but your sisters engaged to a literal pedophile."In a post on Monday, Luckey said Gaetz had pressured his friend to date her last summer, when she was 19 and already in a relationship. She described the friend as a divorced father who was around Gaetz's age, 39."This guy kept telling me, like, 'Oh, Matt told me I should ask you out, like, that we would be great together,'" Luckey said, adding that she "would just make jokes and be like, 'Haha, like, I'm 19. Like, that's weird.'"Luckey said the friend went on to say "creepy things," like, "When you break up with your boyfriend, let me know, so you can have a real man."Luckey said the friend later apologized, saying he'd asked her out "to get Matt off my back."Luckey said that when she confronted Gaetz at Thanksgiving, he "started yelling at me and my mom.""He called me a narcissist, was just 1,000% gaslighting me," she said, adding: "He went full lawyer on me, like, 'I don't have to listen to you, I don't have to answer your questions.'"Luckey said that after that episode, she was "unfortunately not surprised" to learn that Gaetz was facing a sex-trafficking investigation.She also said she should have used the term "ephebophile," a person attracted to adolescents, to describe Gaetz instead of "pedophile," a person attracted to prepubescent children.<h2>Luckey said she recorded the videos to hold politicians accountable</h2>"While that little video I made was such a minuscule thing and I know does not properly bring to light the whole situation, if I can just bring some attention to it so people are aware of what's going on and people can be held accountable, that's my goal," Luckey said in the video on Monday."And as someone who has personally experienced a ton of creepy old politician men hitting on me when I was underage and experiencing sexual assault at that age by people of power, it's just very disheartening," she added.When reached for comment by The Daily Beast, Ginger Luckey said: "Matt and I are enjoying our engagement and are deeply in love. My estranged sister is mentally unwell."She added: "She has been in therapy for years and our family hopes that after receiving in-patient mental health treatment, she will overcome the tendency she has repeatedly shown to engage in destructive behavior."

Matt Gaetz's future sister-in-law called him 'weird' and 'creepy' and said he pressured an older man to date her when she was 19

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The federal <keyword id="49112" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Investigation">investigation</keyword> involving Rep. <keyword id="4142242" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="matt-gaetz">Matt Gaetz</keyword> has brought attention to his love life.</li><li>The <keyword id="6357385" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="florida">Florida</keyword> Republican is engaged to <keyword id="11031994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ginger-luckey">Ginger Luckey</keyword>, 26.</li><li>She studies at Harvard Business School and considers herself his "travel buddy."</li></ul>With Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida ensnared in a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/justice-department-investigating-matt-gaetz-sexual-relationship-17-year-old-2021-3">federal sex trafficking investigation</a> into whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, his fiancée has been thrust into the spotlight.Ginger Luckey, a 26-year-old Harvard Business School student, has been engaged to Gaetz since December 30, 2020.<h3>Gaetz and Luckey met at <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword>'s Mar-a-Lago club last March</h3>Luckey spoke with the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9102343/Matt-Gaetz-engaged-Californian-food-analyst.html">Daily Mail</a> about her relationship with the 38-year-old Gaetz, detailing how she met the conservative congressman.She said her mother "dragged" her to an event at former President Donald Trump's <keyword id="3874181" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mar-a-Lago-resort">Mar-a-Lago resort</keyword> in March 2020, and that they attended <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/profile-kimberly-guilfoyle-girlfriend-donald-trump-junior-2020-10">Kimberly Guilfoyle</a>'s wedding together shortly thereafter.<h3>Luckey's brother is a notable startup founder</h3><keyword id="2167805" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Palmer-Luckey">Palmer Luckey</keyword> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-oculus-portal-sales-q1-earnings-2019-4">sold his company Oculus VR to Facebook</a> for a reported $2 billion in 2014.A self-identified libertarian, Luckey's 28-year-old brother held a fundraiser for Trump and has donated to the Republican Party, according to <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/search?page=1&amp;q=Palmer+Luckey&amp;type=donorse=donors">Open Secrets</a>, a campaign finance watchdog group.<h3>Gaetz and Luckey live on separate coasts, but have been traveling together during the pandemic</h3>Luckey told the Daily Mail that working remotely as a food analyst in California during the pandemic has let her spend more time with her future husband."So I have been traveling with him everywhere," she said. "I am his travel buddy."In early reports on the federal investigation, Gaetz's travel with an underage girl is one area of interest."I have definitely, in my single days, provided for women I've dated," <a href="https://www.axios.com/matt-gaetz-sexual-misconduct-investigation-2755fd4f-f72e-4283-b8ac-9233c952b914.html">Gaetz recently told Axios</a>. "You know, I've paid for flights, for hotel rooms. I've been, you know, generous as a partner. I think someone is trying to make that look criminal when it is not."<h3>Luckey graduated from college in 2016 and is attending business school online</h3>She attended the University of California at Santa Barbara, according to her LinkedIn page, and is now enrolled in the Harvard business program online. She majored in economics and accounting while studying as a Gaucho.<h3>Gaetz apparently wants an Elvis impersonator to preside over their wedding</h3>"It'll be between now and 2024," Luckey said of their wedding plans in the Daily Mail interview. "We are flexible and have no time span yet.""Matt wants an Elvis impersonator to preside," she continued. "I want multiple venues, so we'll see."

Who is Rep. Matt Gaetz's fiancée? Meet Ginger Luckey, a 26-year-old Harvard business student and the congressman's 'travel buddy'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gaetz spoke out against Fox News and accused two of its hosts of over-sexualizing Ocasio-Cortez. </li><li>Two hosts on "The Five" joked last week about how Gaetz could divorce his wife and marry Ocasio-Cortez.</li></ul>Rep. Matt Gaetz slammed two hosts on "The Five," a Fox News talk show, for making jokes about him and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and over-sexualizing his Democratic colleague. <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1656008232719065101" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In a Tuesday episode of his "Firebrand" podcast</a>, the Florida Republican said he disliked how the two hosts — Greg Gutfeld and Jeanine Pirro — speculated he could end his marriage with his wife, Ginger Luckey, and marry Ocasio-Cortez instead. "I have got a bone to pick with The Five," Gaetz said in his podcast, speaking with Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona. "And it does seem a little childish to me that the media always has to over-sexualize everything that AOC is involved with," he said. "They wouldn't do that to men, and two people can engage in serious legislation that's not renaming some post office. We're trying to make our Congress more honest and more ethical — without that type of, I think, very childish and immature commentary."Gaetz was responding to Gutfeld's suggestion that the Florida lawmaker and Ocasio-Cortez might get together. This was after after Gaetz and Ocasio-Cortez teamed up to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-aoc-not-corrupt-team-up-anti-stock-bill-2023-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">push a new bipartisan bill</a> to ban Congress from trading stocks."I smell a romantic comedy. A beautiful left-wing communist Congress, a dashing right-wing male fresh off a wrongful accusation of sexual misconduct," Gutfeld <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1656011892664541192" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.He added: "They come together to fight one of the most corrupt practices in politics, and they fall in love. They can't help themselves."Pirro, who is also one of the five hosts of the show, then said that she would like to be the officiant at Gaetz and Ocasio-Cortez's wedding. Gaetz also slammed Pirro, saying: "And then Judge Jeanine — Judge Jeanine, who starts out saying I am happily married. Judge Jeanine, who was sitting at my table at Mar-a-Lago the night I proposed to my wife. By the end of the Greg Gutfeld rant, she's bailed, and she's wanting to be the officiant for me and AOC."He added: "So shame on you, Judge Jeanine."In May, Ocasio-Cortez and Gaetz formed an alliance to introduce a new bipartisan bill, which <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/congress-individual-stock-trading-ban-bipartisan-bill-aoc-matt-gaetz-2023-5">aims to ban Congress members and their spouses from trading stocks</a>. Although the duo has <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1534999896033529856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1534999896033529856%7Ctwgr%5Ef1e92b65566c8e42157aacc49d26c68e0b8f7078%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fhouse%2Faoc-and-matt-gaetz-spar-on-twitter-bad-haircut-in-a-cheap-suit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">historically clashed</a> on their political ideologies, Gaetz told <a href="https://twitter.com/JesseBWatters/status/1653551433831051267?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1653551433831051267%7Ctwgr%5E69162d30313049f443ad25a5c9b23f603d0a4ba2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fmatt-gaetz-aoc-not-corrupt-team-up-anti-stock-bill-2023-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News's Jesse Watters</a> on May 2 that while Ocasio-Cortez is "wrong a lot," she is "not corrupt."He's also defended Ocasio-Cortez in the past. "I can confirm that AOC gets along w many of her Republican colleagues on a range of things that don't have anything to do w legislation or politics. She is not a bitch," Gaetz <a href="https://twitter.com/mattgaetz/status/1285615972385198087?s=46&amp;t=bkmJfZuvxzKCaiQCsNuiTw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> in July 2020.Representatives for Fox News, Gaetz, and Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular working hours.

Matt Gaetz slams 2 Fox News hosts for over-sexualizing AOC and joking that he might divorce his wife and marry her instead

Good morning and welcome to your weekday morning roundup of the top stories you need to know.For more daily and weekly briefings, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter">sign up for our newsletters here</a>.What's going on today: <ul><li>Sorry ladies, Matt Gaetz is off the market. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-ginger-luckey-elope-california-married-catalina-island-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matt Gaetz and his girlfriend Ginger Luckey eloped in California.</a> Gaetz and Luckey held a small ceremony with a few dozen friends and family members on Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California. </li><li>Paul Mitchell's warning. <a href="https://www.insider.com/former-gop-congressman-calls-for-bipartisanship-in-posthumously-aired-interview-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Congressman who left GOP over Trump's election fraud claims released a posthumous message </a><a href="https://www.insider.com/former-gop-congressman-calls-for-bipartisanship-in-posthumously-aired-interview-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warning that partisanship is "destroying our society."</a> Former Congressman Paul Mitchell told CNN he wished for "real bipartisanship" to return to the US in a final message recorded before his death from cancer. </li><li>"We betrayed them." <a href="https://www.insider.com/afghan-interpreter-spent-years-us-visa-gets-out-by-favor-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A marine has spent 5 years trying to get his Afghan interpreter to the US. A visa is still nowhere in sight.</a> Marine Corps Maj. Thomas Schueman said his interpreter, Zak, was only able to leave Afghanistan because he called in a favor from an Army friend.</li><li>Murthy backs vax mandates. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/murthy-vaccine-requirements-at-businesses-colleges-are-very-reasonable-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says vaccine requirements at businesses and universities are "a very reasonable thing to do."</a> "I think that these measures, these requirements, are absolutely reasonable," Murthy said of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. "I think they will help."</li><li>RIP Babuji. <a href="https://www.insider.com/indian-village-saharanpur-mourns-beloved-bull-lived-them-20-years-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">3,000 villagers in India held a feast to mourn a beloved bull that lived with them for 20 years</a>. Around 3,000 people in the Indian village of Kurdi attended a grand death feast for Babuji the bull, a beloved animal in the village.</li><li>That's all for now. See you Monday. </li></ul>

Matt Gaetz's 2020 book about life as 'a fun-loving politician' in DC seen in new light after sex-trafficking allegations

<ul><ul class="summary-list"><li>The DOJ's investigation into whether Rep. <keyword id="11923746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="matt-gaetz" source="Orion">Matt Gaetz</keyword> violated sex-trafficking laws is nearing an end.</li><li>With control of Congress in play, some Republicans are preparing for potential political fallout. </li></ul></ul>Most Republicans are neither embracing nor condemning scandal-ridden Rep. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/matt-gaetz">Matt Gaetz</a>.Yet they may soon face a decision day — one they've been happy to avoid, since Gaetz is one of former President <keyword id="11914386" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword>'s most vocal defenders — and some Republicans are quietly preparing for the real possibility that federal officials will charge the <keyword id="11910362" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="florida" source="Orion">Florida</keyword> Republican with crimes. Earlier this month, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-investigation-key-figures-2022-1">Gaetz's ex-girlfriend</a> testified before a federal grand jury. She could be a key witness in the Justice Department's probe into whether the Gaetz violated federal sex-trafficking laws and obstructed justice. And this week <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-shock-jock-joe-ellicott-in-matt-gaetz-circle-pleads-guilty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Beast</a> reported that a potential witness in the case has pleaded guilty in federal court for fraud and illegally selling the drug Adderall, and is cooperating with the Gaetz investigation. "Big Joe" Ellicott, a former Florida shock jock with potentially key information about the sex trafficking ring involving Rep. Matt Gaetz, has pleaded guilty in federal court, The Daily Beast has learned.Luis Alvarado, a Republican political strategist, told Insider that Gaetz has staying power because he still embodies ideals espoused by Trump. Trump, too, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-accused-trump-sexual-misconduct-list-2017-12">faced dozens of accusations</a> of sexual assault or misconduct but still won the presidency — and is angling toward another run in 2024 while serving as the Republican Party's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/polls-suggest-trump-and-the-gops-efforts-to-downplay-jan-6-has-worked-2021-12">de facto leader</a>."Matt Gaetz is still a poster boy for Trumpism," Alvarado said. "And if you deny that, then a question arises whether you're still part of that movement."GOP leaders won't begin to more publicly distance themselves from Gaetz until he's formally charged or brought into court, predicted Republican strategist Keith Naughton.Republicans are acutely aware of their <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/some-early-clues-about-how-the-midterms-will-go/">opportunity to win big</a> in the 2022 <keyword id="12339732" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="midterm-elections" source="Orion">midterm elections</keyword> and control both the House and Senate. Vocally speaking out against Gaetz could complicate their efforts to project unity and win congressional majorities that enable them to stall President Joe Biden's agenda in 2023 and 2024. GOP leaders haven't called on Gaetz to resign or stripped him of his committee assignments. <div type="image" title="kevin mccarthy" height="3168" width="4225" msid="89102140" hostid="261"></div>And Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is expected to be the next Speaker of the House if Republicans gain a majority, said in April 2020 that those things would happen only if the accusations against Gaetz proved to be true. McCarthy's office did not respond to questions from Insider about whether leadership still stood by that position today. Other GOP leadership offices also ignored questions about what might cause Republican leaders to discipline Gaetz or ask him to resign — whether it be a bombshell interview, charges, an indictment, or a criminal conviction of some sort.No charges against Gaetz have been filed, and he has repeatedly denied that he had sex with a minor, paid for sex, or obstructed justice. Charges <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/31/man-charged-extortion-gaetz-508122">have been brought</a> against Stephen Alford, a Florida developer who tried to extort Gaetz's family over the matter. Joel Greenberg, a former associate of Gaetz, is expected to go before a judge in March to be sentenced after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joel-greenberg-sentencing-postponed-matt-gaetz-associate-helping-feds-2021-10">pleading guilty to several charges.</a>Gaetz, who won his 2020 election by <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Matt_Gaetz">more than 30 percentage points</a>, is seeking reelection to his congressional seat in November 2022. He had <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/744/202110159467788744/202110159467788744.pdf">nearly $1.5 million</a> in his campaign account as of September 30, according to federal records.<h2 dir="ltr">Some Republicans are quietly pulling back </h2>But signs are emerging that the Department of Justice investigation is affecting Gaetz's ability to function as a congressman — including his policy-making and relationships with colleagues.Some Republicans, who have never much cared for Gaetz since he entered Congress in 2018, have been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-sex-scandal-doj-investigation-republicans-trump-2021-3">privately sneering</a> at him in the months since his legal woes began, Insider previously reported. Other Republicans have given donations from Gaetz's campaign committee, called Friends of Matt Gaetz, to charity, according to Federal Election Commission records. Among them is Republican Rep. John Katko of New York, who <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?committee_id=C00499392&amp;committee_id=C00702449&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2022&amp;line_number=F3-21&amp;data_type=processed">donated $2,000</a> to a Syracuse-based charity called In My Father's Kitchen in April, and later announced he would not seek reelection in 2022. Additionally, campaign-disclosure records show GOP Reps. <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/matt-gaetz-brian-fitzpatrick-campaign-donation-20210409.html">Brian Fitzpatrick</a> of Pennsylvania <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202107159451324068">gave $2,000</a> to the Bucks County Fraternal Order of Police, and <a href="https://www.axios.com/freshman-lawmmaker-donates-gaetz-contributions-df4f459c-5002-4962-b6bd-7c8216eaa893.html">David Valadao</a> of California <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?committee_id=C00499392&amp;committee_id=C00702449&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2022&amp;line_number=F3-21&amp;data_type=processed">gave $4,000</a> to Marjaree Mason Center, a Fresno-based organization that supports domestic-violence victims.The lawmakers' offices did not respond to Insider's request for comment on why they didn't accept the donations from Gaetz. As long as it looks like Republican leadership is still standing behind Gaetz, the impending investigation won't impact the lawmaker's ability to get political donations for his reelection campaign, Naughton said."You've got to have something really sweeping at the leadership level for it to really have an impact," he said. Gaetz, to some degree, has become marginalized on the policy front. Take <keyword id="11910359" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cannabis" source="Orion">cannabis</keyword> reform, an issue on which Gaetz has been a congressional leader.In November, for the first time in history, a group of House Republicans, led by Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, unveiled a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rep-nancy-mace-on-gop-led-cannabis-legalization-bill-2021-11">bill to legalize cannabis</a>. But missing from the list of sponsors was Gaetz, who has long bucked his party to support legalization, going back to his time as a state representative in the Florida House. He even helped to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/27/how-matt-gaetz-helped-make-ron-desantis-491196">convince</a> GOP Gov. <keyword id="11913103" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ron-desantis" source="Orion">Ron DeSantis</keyword> to urge the Florida legislature to lift a state ban on smokable medical cannabis.Asked about Gaetz's omission from the bill, a cannabis-industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity cited the DOJ investigation. "It has been more difficult for him to lead legislative efforts because of the associated issues," the person said. It shows that while Gaetz still has friends in Congress, even his allies are quietly isolating him — or at least not going out of their way to work with him.<div type="image" title="Rep. Matt Gaetz" height="768" width="1024" msid="89102141" hostid="261"></div>Insider asked Gaetz last week whether he thought the Justice Department investigation was impeding his work on Capitol Hill."No," he said. "Actually, I was just talking to Mr. Cicilline about legislation."Mr. Cicilline is Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat, who confirmed to Insider that Gaetz had "approached me about an idea he had" on antitrust legislation."He's been a very active member of the antitrust subcommittee and has supported our antitrust package," Cicilline said. "So he's been, you know, very serious."As for the Justice Department investigation, Cicilline said: "I don't know anything about that. He's currently a member of Congress serving on that committee. I interact with him in that regard."Gaetz essentially says the same thing about his situation. "I don't know what I don't know," he said. "But I'm focused on the work here." Gaetz has been the lead sponsor on seven bills so far in this congressional session. The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/search?q=%7B%22congress%22%3A%5B%22117%22%5D%2C%22source%22%3A%5B%22legislation%22%2C%22members%22%5D%2C%22search%22%3A%22matt+gaetz%22%2C%22type%22%3A%22bills%22%2C%22house-sponsor%22%3A%22Gaetz%2C+Matt+%5BR-FL%5D%22%7D">one</a> with the largest number of co-sponsors — 19 — would cancel a Washington, D.C., rule forcing customers to show businesses proof that they've received COVID-19 vaccinations. He has co-sponsored 213 other bills. On Monday, Gaetz was one of two Republicans among 27 House members who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/house-members-ask-leadership-swiftly-bring-stock-trading-ban-pelosi-2022-1">signed a letter</a> asking Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat of California, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican of California, to swiftly consider legislation that would ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks.Gaetz told Insider he couldn't recall whether anyone asked him to co-sponsor the GOP cannabis bill. He instead pointed out that he was the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3884/cosponsors?q=%7B%22party%22%3A%22Republican%22%7D">only Republican co-sponsor</a> of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act, which he called "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-cannabis-federal-legalization-bill-2021-11">far more ambitious</a> in its restorative justice" provisions. The MORE Act passed the House in December 2020 thanks to overwhelming Democratic support, but wasn't taken up by the Senate, which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-legalization-federal-decriminalization-congress-democrats-banking-schumber-2021-3">remains opposed to legalization</a>.Rep. Mace's communications director, Barbara Boland, told Insider that "Gaetz didn't ask to sign on" to the GOP legislation. Mace previously <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2021/04/15/third-house-republican-says-he-gave-donation-from-matt-gaetz-to-charity/?sh=78955c9a6237">indicated to Forbes</a> that she wanted to return a donation from Gaetz's campaign committee. She has also gotten into <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-nancy-mace-descend-into-chaotic-twitter-fight-2021-11">Twitter spats</a> with Rep. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mtg-marjorie-taylor-greene-georgia-congressional-district-2021-5">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a>, a close ally of Gaetz. <h2 dir="ltr">Gaetz still has a few allies in Congress </h2>Gaetz's policy backlash hasn't reached the level faced by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, a Democrat often at odds with her party's political orthodoxy, who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-democratic-party-unanimously-censure-sen-kyrsten-sinema-filibuster-2022-1">was censured on Saturday by the Arizona Democratic Party</a> after she wouldn't support abolishing the Senate filibuster to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freedom-to-vote-act-john-lewis-voting-rights-bill-explainer-2022-1">advance Democrat-backed voting-rights legislation</a>. Sinema also recently <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/emily-s-list-naral-pull-support-sinema-over-filibuster-opposition-n1287789">lost endorsements from</a> abortion-rights groups EMILY's List and NARAL Pro-Choice America.Gaetz has been on the opposite end of the <keyword id="11901426" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="abortion" source="Orion">abortion</keyword> debate, consistently voting in favor of limits on the procedure, earning him <a href="https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/evaluations/117101/matt-gaetz">endorsements</a> from the National Right to Life Committee. Laura Echevarria, spokeswoman for National Right to Life, told Insider that it was too early in the campaign season for endorsements, which happen in the summer. But she added that the group's decision for any candidate would be based on his or her voting record on abortion versus other factors. Recent history has shown that some House members have staying power in Congress despite their scandals. But their colleagues can reach a breaking point when the issues cross into the legal system. Former Rep. Blake Farenthold, a Republican of Texas, faced various sex scandals over the course of seven years before former House Speaker Paul Ryan <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidMDrucker/status/941321477034475521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E941321477034475521%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fthe-fix%2Fwp%2F2017%2F12%2F14%2Fretiring-gop-congressman-blake-farenthold-is-no-stranger-to-weird-sexual-scandals%2F">pressured</a> him in 2018 to resign over a sexual-harassment case. Others, such as former Rep. Mark Foley, a Republican of Florida who sent sexually explicit messages to congressional pages, resigned just days after accusers came out publicly. Then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert told reporters he would have demanded Foley be expelled from Congress if he didn't resign. (Hastert himself would later serve prison time for crimes connected to molesting teenage boys.)In 2017, Pelosi worked with the Congressional Black Caucus to pressure former Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, to resign after he was publicly accused of sexual harassment. But Democrats weren't immediately in lockstep on the issue. The second-in-command Democrat, then Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steny-hoyer-believes-woman-accusing-john-conyers-of-sexual-misconduct-2017-11">said</a> at the time that the investigation should be allowed to move forward but agreed that Conyers made the right move by stepping down from his role as ranking member. <h2 dir="ltr">'I trust Matt Gaetz' </h2>The same outcry hasn't yet come to a head from congressional Republicans monitoring Gaetz's drama.And Gaetz's defenders continue to stand by him and dispute that the investigation is affecting his work on Capitol Hill. Rep. <keyword id="11917798" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jim-jordan" source="Orion">Jim Jordan</keyword> of Ohio, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, praised Gaetz's contribution to the panel and his work riling up conservatives. Jordan told Insider that the investigation "certainly hasn't changed his ability to go around the country and talk to conservative voters." "I trust Matt Gaetz," Jordan said. "What else do you want me to say?" Since last summer, Gaetz has been on a "Freedom Tour" with Greene, holding rallies to bash COVID restrictions and falsely promote the idea that Trump won his 2020 reelection bid.Greene told Insider that she and Gaetz don't talk about the Justice Department investigation and that "it just doesn't look like there is anything there," because no women had come out publicly. "In my honest opinion I don't think it's affecting him at all," she said. "He has such massive support in his district." "Matt's strong," Greene added. "He's doing fine." Trump, who still has a stronghold on the GOP, doesn't appear to have distanced himself from Gaetz either. A Twitter photo shows Trump posing with Gaetz and his wife, Ginger Luckey, as they rang in the New Year at Mar-a-Lago. One former Justice Department official who spoke with Insider on condition of anonymity predicted that if Gaetz ends up getting charged with human trafficking, Trump would likely turn the charges back on Democrats — perhaps by bringing up <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-sexual-assault-allegations-against-bill-clinton-2017-11">rape accusations</a> against former President Bill Clinton or the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstein-politicians-connections-donations-2019-7">large campaign contributions, mostly to Democrats, </a>made by disgraced financier <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstein-life-biography-net-worth-2019-7">Jeffrey Epstein</a>, who was convicted of sex trafficking underage girls."Gaetz is almost as toxic as <keyword id="11917797" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="marjorie-taylor-greene" source="Orion">Marjorie Taylor Greene</keyword>," the person said. "However, Trump's associates are often slimy or controversial and it doesn't seem to impact his supporters." This story originally ran on January 24 and has been updated to include the most recent development on the case.

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Matt Gaetz and his girlfriend Ginger Luckey eloped in California

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