Republican congressman Matt Gaetz claimed he is being targeted by a hitman in a bizarre speech in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The Florida lawmaker, 39, who is currently the subject of an investigation into various crimes including sex with an underage girl, declared he had received a death threat on Twitter from a ‘professional hitman’.
‘I think someone may be trying to kill me. If they are successful, I would like my constituents and my family to know who stopped their arrest,’ Gaetz said on the House floor.
He went on to accuse the Department of Justice of blocking a recommendation from the Capitol Police that the individual in question be arrested, and alleged the DOJ did so because he is a Republican.
It is the latest development in what has been a tumultuous few months for the congressman who is accused of sex trafficking and corruption.
Republican congressman Matt Gaetz claimed he is being targeted by a hitman in a bizarre speech in the House of Representatives on Wednesday
‘I think someone may be trying to kill me. If they are successful, I would like my constituents and my family to know who stopped their arrest,’ Gaetz said on the House floor
In a later tweet, Gaetz claimed the Department of Justice blocked a recommendation from the Capitol Police that the individual who allegedly made the death threat be arrested
Following his stunning House speech on Wednesday, Gaetz took to Twitter later that evening to reinforce his message.
The Floridian published a tweet showing the video of his speech and said: ‘A man traveled across the country with the explicit goal of killing me in Washington D.C.,’ before alleging the Department of Justice prevented the arrest of the ‘hitman’.
Gaetz claimed he received a direct message on October 8 via Twitter from a user which read: ‘I lived in Portland. Portland has ordered a hit on you. I accepted the contract. Have a good day.’
He went on to say he was told by a source that the Capitol Police recommended the arrest of the individual, who had purportedly traveled to D.C., but it was later blocked by the Department of Justice.
‘It is just yet another example of the Department of Justice having a double standard,’ Gaetz declared, before alleging the DOJ blocked his arrest due to his ethnicity and a disdain for Republicans.
‘If my name weren’t Gaetz, if it were Omar or Talib, you bet this person would have been arrested. Because that’s what the Capitol Police recommended.
‘But the Department of Justice doesn’t seem to care so much when it’s Republicans.’
Gaetz is facing a number of allegations that include sex trafficking, prostitution, obstruction of justice, campaign finance violations and a number of other corruption claims.
The lawmaker, who is a close ally of former President Donald Trump, has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and has repeatedly pointed out that despite his alleged crimes, no charges have yet been brought against him.
Gaetz has been steadfast in his denial of the claims and has said repeatedly he will not resign from Congress as a result.
Meanwhile, it emerged earlier this week that a federal Florida judge delayed GOP Rep Joel Greenberg’s sex trafficking sentence by five months so Greenberg can cooperate with a probe into Gaetz.
US District Judge Gregory Presnell said Monday he had agreed to postpone the sentencing until next March, in order for Greenberg to probe prosecutors with more information on sex trafficking crimes as per his plea deal.
Greenberg, the former Seminole County tax collector, is facing up to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty last May to six federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a child, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
His cooperation in helping to investigate sex trafficking crimes is said to play a possible role in looking into allegations against his friend Matt Gaetz.
Gaetz is facing a number of allegations that include sex trafficking, prostitution, obstruction of justice, campaign finance violations and a number of other corruption claims. He has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and has repeatedly pointed out that despite his alleged crimes, no charges have yet been brought against him
The sentencing for former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg’s trial has been pushed back till March, so he can co-operate with a probe into the alleged crimes of Gaetz (pictured: Greenberg in September 2019)
A 17-year-old girl Gaetz is rumored to have paid for sex also previously agreed to have sex with Greenberg, who admitted to recruiting women from a sugar daddy website and paying them more than $70,000 from 2016 to 2018.
The age of consent in Florida is 18.
‘Joel Greenberg has pleaded guilty to lying about another man having sex with minors,’ a spokesman for the congressman told WESH.
‘That person was innocent and so is Representative Gaetz. No one has sought to question Representative Gaetz.’
Meanwhile, Assistant US Attorney Roger Handberg labelled Greenberg a ‘prolific criminal;, but said he believed he ‘was not alone’ in his crimes.
‘Mr. Greenberg was a prolific criminal. (But) he was not alone. This is an unusual case in the number of investigations that we have been pursuing.
‘We need more time before sentencing, so that we can follow up on these other leads, and so we can give this court as much information as we can.’
Despite Gaetz’s denial, Greenberg has continued to agree in aiding with sex trafficking investigations.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk