Republicans Must Defend Matt Gaetz To End The Use Of Salacious Lies As A Political Weapon

Before marrying in 2021, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., was known to be a braggadocious libertine. No conservative wants to defend such behavior, and so many on the Right are remaining silent as Gaetz is accused of also engaging in criminal conduct, paying prostitutes, and having sex with a minor. The claims against Gaetz are but another information operation, however, mirroring the ones that previously targeted Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh. And this pattern will continue unabated unless Americans unflinchingly condemn the tactic — no matter the target.

We should have learned this lesson from Donald Trump’s first presidential run and time in office. From Crossfire Hurricane, to the pee-tape dossier, to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, unsupported and unbelievable accusations leaked to the public hampered Trump’s ability to advance his agenda. Time and again the charges proved unfounded, and yet in advance of the 2024 election, the lawfare continued. The country, however, had wised up by then and recognized the various criminal and civil charges leveled against Trump for what they were: an effort to interfere in the election.

Why then is anyone giving credence to the accusations against Gaetz, especially given the FBI — after thoroughly investigating the matter for two years — decided not to charge Gaetz? Rather, career prosecutors for the Department of Justice concluded there were credibility problems with “the two central witnesses” to the case.

Earlier this week, The Federalist’s editor-in-chief, Mollie Hemingway, detailed not just the DOJ’s conclusion that the women’s stories would be unconvincing to a jury, but the many additional problems with the entire hoax. Take, for instance, the fact that a jail-house informant revealed that his cellmate, Joel Greenberg, was behind the woman’s claims that she had sex with Gaetz when she was 17. And Greenberg himself had admitted to “fabricating allegations against a schoolteacher who was running against him to be a tax collector,” with Greenberg sending “letters to the school falsely claiming the teacher had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student.”  

Yet now that Trump has nominated Gaetz to serve as his attorney general, opponents to the former Florida representative are dusting off the sex trafficking claims. On Friday, ABC News ran an interview with the lawyer who represents two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee about Gaetz’s supposed misconduct. According to ABC News, those two witnesses had previously testified as part of the DOJ investigation. So, the very same witnesses the FBI — which holds no love lost for Gaetz — concluded lack credibility are the impetus for the House Ethics Committee investigation.

Now, the media and some senators are pressuring the House Ethics Committee to release their report on the investigation into Gaetz. Whether that happens or not, though, there will surely be leaks designed to doom Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general. 

While some on the Right may prefer not to defend the former playboy, the only way to end the growing use of salacious lies as a political weapon is to condemn the information operation, prosecute those responsible, and ostracize the members of the media responsible for advancing the hoax. Like it or not, that’s precisely what conservatives must do in response to the attacks on Gaetz.

Had Republicans adopted this approach when the Left came for the blemishless Brett Kavanaugh, it wouldn’t need to defend Gaetz against the false accusations now. But whether Gaetz’s bachelorhood looked vastly different than Kavanaugh is of no moment: What matters is that the enemies of both men used lies to manipulate politics. And our Republic cannot allow that tactic to stand.

Margot Cleveland is an investigative journalist and legal analyst and serves as The Federalist’s senior legal correspondent. Margot’s work has been published at The Wall Street Journal, The American Spectator, the New Criterion, National Review Online, Townhall.com, the Daily Signal, USA Today, and the Detroit Free Press. She is also a regular guest on nationally syndicated radio programs and on Fox News, Fox Business, and Newsmax. Cleveland is a lawyer and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, where she earned the Hoynes Prize—the law school’s highest honor. She later served for nearly 25 years as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Cleveland is a former full-time university faculty member and now teaches as an adjunct from time to time. Cleveland is also of counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance. Cleveland is on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland where you can read more about her greatest accomplishments—her dear husband and dear son. The views expressed here are those of Cleveland in her private capacity.