In September, The Washington Post reported that career prosecutors had recommended against charging Gaetz, telling Justice Department superiors that a conviction was unlikely in part because of credibility questions with the two central witnesses, according to people familiar with the matter.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.
The investigation into Gaetz began in late 2020 and focused on his alleged involvement several years earlier with a girl who at that time was 17. Investigators examined his dealings with the alleged victim and set out to determine if Gaetz paid for sex in violation of federal sex-trafficking laws, people familiar with the matter have said. Earlier this year, a federal grand jury in Orlando heard testimony from associates of Gaetz’s, including an ex-girlfriend.
Gaetz, 40, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying he has never paid for sex. He has also said the only time he had sex with a 17-year-old was when he was also 17.
The ex-girlfriend who testified to the grand jury was among several women on a trip Gaetz allegedly took to the Bahamas in 2018 that has been of particular interest to investigators. The 17-year-old at issue in the investigation was also on that trip, though by that time she was already 18 or older, people familiar with the matter have said. She was a central witness in the investigation. People familiar with the case said she is one of two people whose testimony had issues that veteran prosecutors felt would not pass muster with a jury.
The other is a former friend of Gaetz’s, Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector for Seminole County, Fla. Greenberg pleaded guilty in 2021 to sex trafficking of a minor and a host of other crimes as part of a cooperation deal with authorities.
Greenberg was first charged in 2020 with fabricating allegations and evidence to smear a political opponent, but prosecutors continued to investigate and added charges to his case. He ultimately agreed to plead guilty to six criminal charges, including sex trafficking of a child, aggravated identity theft and wire fraud.
