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Congressman Matt Gaetz on Capitol Hill during a House Judiciary Committee Hearing- Photo Credit: The New York Times.

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has been accused of having "a relationship" with a 17 year old girl since 2020. The Congressman was also accused of sex traficing and prostituion. What do these allegations mean for the rising star in the Republican Party?

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz represents Florida's First District. Gaetz has been a supporter of Former President Donald Trump since the beginning of his presidency. Gaetz was elected a Congressman at the same time Donald Trump was elected President. Both Trump and Gaetz share similar values, such as free speech, lower taxes, and both are big second amendment supporters. In Trump's four years in office, Gaetz would often appear on Fox News shows such as 'Fox and Friends,' 'Tucker Carlson Tonight,' and 'Hannity' to support President Trump and discuss hot topics that threatened Trump and the Republican party. Little did the Florida Congressman know that soon he would have to appear on camera defending himself for a story written by The New York Times two weeks ago.

Gaetz appeared on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' the day the New York Times story was published about him having "a relationship" with a 17 year old girl. He started off by denying ever having a relationship with her, and he called the story an extortion of him and his family. Before the story was published, Gaetz told Carlson that his father, Don Gaetz, was threatened over the phone and was asked for $25 million, and that if Don Gaetz paid the money, the story would have been killed and Gaetz would get the spotlight off of him. But, according to Gaetz, he and his family instead went to the local FBI and informed them of what had happened. The FBI then recommended that his father, Don, wear a wire for security purposes. The wire was specifically recommended for his father because Gaetz is a member of Congress and the FBI thought it was an attempt at extortion. Gaetz also sits on The House Judiciary Committee and The Armed Service Committee.

As soon as The New York Times Story broke, Democratic leaders in Congress such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and other leaders called for Gaetz to be removed from his committees if the allegations turned out to be true. When that broke, Gaetz continued to deny the allegations of ever having "a relationship" with a 17 year old girl. He then said that this whole DOJ investigation is an attempt of extortion of him and his family. What if Gaetz is right, and the DOJ investigation is an attempt to extort him and his family? In that phone call that I mentioned earlier with the Florida Congressman's father, the person who is behind everything said if he paid the $25 million, Gaetz could possibly receive a Presidential Pardon from President Biden. But, why would President Biden be willing to give Matt Gaetz a pardon? The investigation is early with very little evidence from the DOJ, and the Congressman and The President stand on complete opposite sides of the Political totem poll. That one fact alone just doesn't make any sense. But, if the DOJ investigation gets any worse Gaetz is going to have to rely on high level figures in the Republican Party to stand by his side and deny all allegations against him.

These leaders include House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy- R- California, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, his Republican colleagues in both the Senate and the House, and most importantly Former President Donald Trump. I feel that Donald Trump will be crucial in this regarding the Republicans because Gaetz and Trump, like I mentioned earlier, are good friends and people often refer to Gaetz as Trump's protege. Gaetz's support extends so far for Donald Trump that the Congressman just published a book called "FireBrand" and Donald Trump was a big part of the book. The book captures what Trump did for the Republian Party that led to the change that occurred in the party just 4 years ago. His strong relationship with President Trump and other Republican Congressional leaders could be the only way that he could get out of this.

In conclusion, I hope my article gave you a good understanding of Congressman Gaetz's situation and what the future could hold for the young consrvative Congressman. Thank you for reading my article and I hope you found it very interesting to read.