Blue Star. I agree with everything you've said. My problem is that the DOJ could not confirm ANY of the most damaging allegations and had to drop the investigation. That makes it very difficult for me to just accept those same allegations the DOJ could not prove as fact at this point. It should give any fair minded American pause, even if Gaetz is a well known creep for other reasons.1713 Baylor said:Cash transfers. Sure. Texts from him. Sure. Keep telling yourself that.Wangchung said:So there is mountains of evidence yet the case was dropped due to... lack of evidence. Oh right, sorry, a crooked Orlando DA got the Department of Justice to drop its federal investigation. Lol, wow.1713 Baylor said:Six people see him boff the 17 year old and those are "allegations".Wangchung said:Yes, those are the allegations from the report, not evidence. Ask yourself why there wasn't enough evidence to convict him in an actual court of law. Then come back and converse like an adult.1713 Baylor said:You are so full of *****Wangchung said:Exactly. These leftists have zero credibility with which to levy any unfounded charges against Republicans. Show some evidence or stfu.Married A Horn said:
If true, he should go to jail.
But pardon us for wanting evidence before we convict in the public court of opinion after the countless lies and false charges the evil left have thrown up.
Nobody on the right will defend this.
It is a Committee of the US Congress, 50% Republican, 50% Democrat, not some egghead journalist.
Read the damned report. I dare you. None of you will because you can't stomach what you've caused by voting without regard to any sense of integrity or rectitude.
Amongst the evidence:
1. Cash reimbursements with at least 13 women immediately following sexual liaisons totaling over $100 K in less than a year and a half, one of the 13 a "finder" who procured other women for Gaetz. P. 14
2. "Based on the evidentiary record, the Committee identified at least 20 occasions from the beginning of 2017 through the middle of 2020 where there was substantial evidence that representative Gaetz met with women who were paid for sex and/or drugs."
3. Testimony of the "girlfriend" who rounded up sexual trysts for Gaetz. P. 14
4. Testimony of the 17 year old who he drugged and boffed.
5. Testimony of several guests attending the party where he publicly drugged and boffed the 17-year old P. 14, p. 16.
6. The direct text messages by Gaetz: "Text messages obtained by the Committee show that Representative Gaetz would also ask women to bring drugs to their rendezvous, in some instances requesting marijuana cartridges and repaying the women directly, but in other cases requesting 'a full compliment [sic] of party favors," 'vitamins', or 'rolls."
7. "$400 is not a problem, Are you both old enough to drink?"
8. Gaetz denying that he knew one of the women, despite taking a selfie with her and paying her $600 cash that day. P. 19.
9. "Victim A (the 17 year old) recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex. At the time, she had just completed her junior year of high school." p. 22.
10. "...Representative Gaetz generally denied engaging in sexual activity with a minor, but refused to answer specific questions relating to his interactions with Victim A." p. 23
11. "The Committee's September 4 letter, however, specifically asked him whether he was present at the July 15, 2017 party at Mr. Dorworth's, whether he ever engaged in sexual activity with Victim A and when, and whether he ever gave Victim A money directly or indirectly, and if so, for what purpose. Representative Gaetz did not answer any of those questions." p. 24.
12. "There is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old-girl. The Committee received credible testimony from Victim A herse;f, as well as multiple individuals corroborating the allegation. Several of those witnesses have also testified under oath before a federal grand jury and in a civil litigation." p. 31
Gaetz was given the opportunity to specifically rebut every single one of the charges brought against him by the Committee, but refused to do so. P. 2, 10, 13, 14, 19, 24, 28, 32.
What they had on him was the tip of the iceberg. Most women didn't cooperate at all. "The Committee received additional evidence from Mr. Greenberg that is not included in this Report, much of it salacious but unverifiable, although consistent with the nature of the conduct that the Committee learned of from other witnesses."
This was your proposed attorney general. I'm a Republican, have been my entire life, and I am horrifically embarrassed and disgusted by what I've seen under the "R." When we turn off the integrity meter and vote for ****s like Matt Gaetz, we get exactly what we deserve.
The cash trail leads directly to him on systematic payments, and those are "allegations"
The women testify under oath that it was pay for sex, and those are "allegations."
His own texts characterize it as sex for pay and wonder out loud if they're old enough to drink, but those are just "allegations."
As for prosecution, he should be prosecuted. Why not? Maybe a Republican DA in Orlando doesn't want to take on a sitting Congressman? Maybe the women are threatened (many were)? Maybe the rot extends to state prosecutors? My proposition stands, you can ignore this all you want, and it will just keep getting worse until the stench kills us all.
The very best spin that can be put on all this is that the President Elect's chief of staff had the good sense to nominate Gaetz so that he had to resign his role in Congress knowing this crap was coming out and he'd never be confirmed, and therefore wouldn't be a perpetual pain in the ass as a Representative in Congress. If so, touche', that's a Svengali-quality move. One Trump doesn't have the brains or patience to carry out.
Again, you're pretending the allegations are evidence. You're ignoring the fact that multiple witnesses were proven unreliable. He might be a scumbag and guilty of all these allegations but the DOJ couldn't prove it.
You are missing my bigger point. We as Republicans have to do a better job of policing ourselves or we won't be long for this earth. If you look at the party over its history, it's done a very good job on that--far better than the Dems. Barry Goldwater walked into Nixon's office and said "you're out," I don't have the votes to keep you in." And he didn't because about 30 Republican senators had had enough of Nixon's **** splashing back on them, and were brave enough to say so.
The Republicans have been the sober party, the adults in the room, when it came to giveaways, etc. The core of that reputation is a belief system that is now long lost--keep your word, don't lie, pay your debts on time, have a strong defense and use it as little as you can, keep government the hell out of people's business whenever it can, intervening only when you have to.
Instead we're in the middle of a clown show, led by guys like Gaetz who are performance politicians, but who lack the depth of a parking lot puddle. It won't change unless we quit making excuses for them and hold them to traditional Republican standards. Period.
Our vibrations were getting nasty. But why? I was puzzled, frustrated... Had we deteriorated to the level of dumb beasts?
