Florida State Attorney Doubts Trump’s DOJ Will Charge Matt Gaetz

Florida State Attorney Dave Aronberg stated Monday that former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz is unlikely to face criminal charges despite allegations outlined in the House Ethics Committee’s report.

The report alleges Gaetz violated Florida’s statutory rape law by purportedly paying a 17-year-old girl $400 for sex, with claims that the girl did not disclose her age and Gaetz did not inquire. Speaking on ABC News Live, Aronberg noted that the Justice Department under Attorney General Merrick Garland chose not to pursue charges against Gaetz.

He added that challenges in corroborating the allegations further suggest the former congressman is unlikely to face prosecution.

“I was not surprised by any of this because a lot of these allegations have been out there already. Remember, the federal government investigated this first, and they decided there wasn’t enough proof to move forward with criminal charges against a sitting congressman,” Aronberg began.

“And the reason is because the two witnesses here had some credibility issues. Number one was Joel Greenberg, Matt Gaetz’s former wingman, the tax collector in Seminole County, who’s sitting in prison right now serving an 11-year sentence for, among other things, child sex trafficking. And the other person was the then 17-year-old girl who lied about her age to start a site on seeking arrangements and then is now a member of the adult film industry,” he continued.

“So, the feds thought that they needed more, more corroboration. They didn’t get it so they didn’t file charges, but the House continued with the investigation and [former] Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy, his biggest enemy is Matt Gaetz, and I have to believe he was pulling some of those strings. And now here we are with this embarrassing report about to be released,” he said.

At that, ABC News anchor Diane Macedo responded, “The Justice Department, as you mentioned, they investigated here. They never brought charges. Is that a done deal or is there potential for that to be revisited in light of the committee’s findings?”

“I think that if the Merrick Garland Justice Department decided they would not bring charges against Matt Gaetz, then the Donald Trump Justice Department certainly won’t either,” Aronberg said. “Especially because, remember, Matt Gaetz was appointed attorney general of the United States by Donald Trump until he had to withdraw his nomination, even after all this stuff was out there … I think at the federal level, there will not be a prosecution in that case.”

“Now it’s always possible that state prosecutors can prosecute Gaetz for the child sex trafficking. There is no statute limitations for that crime. But you’d have to have solid proof that not only did he have sex with the then 17-year-old girl, but that he paid her,” he continued. “And according to the report that has been released, at least a part we know, he paid her $400 in cash, not Venmo. The Venmo came later. So it’s going to be much harder to prove there was a payment of money in exchange for sex. So I don’t anticipate there will be criminal charges against Matt Gaetz.”

Macedo then asked, “Gaetz has teased running for office again. Is there anything the committee or any other lawmakers at this point could do to prevent that or get in his way somehow?”

“Only the voters can stop that. Assuming there are no criminal charges against Matt Gaetz, then only the voters can stop him from running for office,” the state attorney said.

“There was a lot of chatter that he will run for governor of my state here in Florida in 2026. He’ll have to go through some other big-name Republicans first and then it will be up to whoever Donald Trump endorses. And now with this report out, I think it’s less likely that Trump endorses him,” he further stated.

“[Trump] doesn’t want to be associated with this, so there’s nothing to stop him from running for higher office if he wants to. Unless the prosecutors hold him up in court and put him in behind bars, that could put a crimp in his plans, but I do not expect prosecutors to file charges even after this report comes out,” Aronberg added.