In an interview this Tuesday, the father of Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz (R) confirmed his son's claim that he is working with the FBI, which included wearing a wire, as part of an investigation into an alleged extortion plot orchestrated by a former federal prosecutor named David McGee, POLITICO reports.
"The FBI asked me to try and get that information for Matt and an indication we would transfer money to Mr. David McGee," Don Gaetz said.
According to POLITICO, McGee told other news outlets that there's no truth to the claim of an extortion plot.
"Don Gaetz said in the interview he wore a wire during a meeting earlier this month with McGee and said he was set to meet Wednesday with Stephen Alford, a local developer who he said is also part of the alleged extortion scheme," POLITICO's Mat Dixon writes. "During that meeting, Don Gaetz said, he was again set to wear a wire and try to get Alford to talk about payments he allegedly was to make to McGee, but the meeting fell apart when news broke that his son was being investigated by the Justice Department. Alford did not respond to text messages seeking comment."
This Tuesday, The New York Times reported that the Florida Republican is being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and trafficked her across state lines.
