'SMEAR MY NAME'
US politician Matt Gaetz, who has served for Florida's 1st congressional district since 2017, is staunch in his party lean.
Gaetz is currently in the firing line for a serious Department of Justice investigation.
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Is Matt Gaetz a Republican or a Democrat?
Matt Gaetz is a Republican and former close ally of Donald Trump.
His district covers a large portion of the western Florida Panhandle, including Pensacola, Destin, Navarre, and his hometown, Fort Walton Beach.
He was elected to the U.S. House in 2016 and reelected by large margins in 2018 and 2020.
His father, Don Gaetz, is a former Republican member of the Florida State Senate. He represented District 1 from 2006 to 2016 and served as President of the Senate from 2013 to 2014.
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Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said that Rep Matt Gaetz would be removed from office should the allegations against him prove true.
McCarthy said that if Gaetz was found guilty, he'd be removed from his committee assignments, including the Judiciary Committee.
Is Matt Gaetz married?
The Republican lawmaker is not married - but he might tie the knot soon.
Gaetz asked girlfriend Ginger Luckey to marry him in December of 2020, to which she said yes.
Fox News host Jeanine Pirro shared the news of Gaetz's engagement on her Twitter page.
Gaetz shared Pirro's post saying, "Thank you for sharing the moment with us Judge!"
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The lawmaker tweeted a photo of him and Luckey in March of 2021, captioning the photo: "fiancé life."
Luckey is the sister of Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR, according to the Pensacola News Journal.
She is from Santa Barbara, California.
Luckey works as an analyst at Apeel which makes coatings to fruit, vegetables and other produce.
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Page Six reported that Gaetz and Luckey met at a fundraiser at former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in March of 2020.
Luckey told The Daily Mail that she travels with Gaetz frequently.
Why is Matt Gaetz being investigated?
Reports broke that Gaetz is being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her travel.
Gaetz denied that he ever had a relationship with any underage girls and said the allegations against him were as searing as they are false.
The Times cited three people familiar with the matter, saying the scrutiny was part of a broader Justice Department probe into one of his political allies and fellow Florida politician, Joel Greenberg, who was indicted in the summer of 2020 on sex trafficking and other charges that he stalked a political opponent.
He said was a victim of the probe headed by David McGee of the DOJ, and that the department are trying to "smear [his] name."
Gaetz told Axios: ”I believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to criminalize my sexual conduct, you know, when I was a single guy,
Gaetz told Axios: ”I believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to criminalize my sexual conduct, you know, when I was a single guy.
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“I have definitely, in my single days, provided for women I’ve dated.
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“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.”
Gaetz has not been charged with a crime. The Justice Department did not immediately comment.