Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) faced scornful backlash on Tuesday after he complained that the Department of Justice had not released tapes that were collected in an investigation which he says will exonerate him.
April 8, 2021

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) faced scornful backlash on Tuesday after he complained that the Department of Justice had not released tapes that were collected in an investigation which he says will exonerate him.

Gaetz is on record claiming that he was being extorted in connection to a sex trafficking investigation. He has also denied having sex with a 17-year-old girl.

"They wanted $25 million to make false allegations against me go away," Gaetz wrote in a tweet on Tuesday. "My family would never pay a bribe."

"Now, the DOJ must release the tapes implicating their former colleague in the smear campaign against me," he added. "It's all on the tapes."

Gaetz has also previously said that travel records would prove he is telling the truth. Those records were never produced.

Some Twitter commenters argued that extortion is suggestive of guilt.

"Wouldn't you have to be guilty of the alleged crime for this to be a reasonably successful extortion?" one person asked.

Others reveled in Gaetz's potential downfall.

Read a sampling of the comments below.

Discussion

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