JUST IN: Prosecutors Reportedly Recommend Against Charging GOP Rep. Gaetz in Sex-Trafficking Investigation

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Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) will likely not face charges in the long-running federal investigation alleging he sex-trafficked a 17-year-old girl who he had a relationship with across state lines, according to a new report.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that veteran prosecutors at the Department of Justice recommended against charges and argued to their “superiors that a conviction is unlikely in part because of credibility questions with the two central witnesses.”

The Post notes that while the recommendation is not the final decision on the issue as to charge Gaetz, “it is rare for such advice to be rejected.” The report by Devlin Barrett cites “people familiar with the matter” who spoke on the “condition of anonymity.”

The report does not leave out the possibility that Gaetz could still be charged if new evidence is uncovered as the investigation is ongoing.

The probe began in late 2020 “and focused on his alleged involvement with a 17-year-old girl several years earlier. Gaetz, 40, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, saying he has never paid for sex. He has also said the only time he had sex with a 17-year-old was when he was also 17.”

Gaetz is a controversial member of the House, known for bombastic comments often aimed at “owning the libs.” He is likely to win reelection in November and is a fierce defender of former President Donald Trump, from whom Gaetz reportedly sought a pre-emptive pardon in this case.