Is Matt Gaetz Still Under Investigation? Sex-Trafficking Probe Timeline

President-elect Donald Trump rattled Washington, D.C., on Wednesday when he nominated Florida Representative Matt Gaetz to be the next attorney general.

Gaetz’s nomination, which reportedly came as a shock to many of his colleagues, also sparked renewed scrutiny over controversies he’s faced since being elected to Congress.

Chief among those is the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Gaetz engaged in sex trafficking and if that investigation is still ongoing.

The department started investigating the Florida congressman in the summer of 2020, and the FBI executed a search warrant on Gaetz later that year, seizing his cell phone and a cell phone belonging to his ex-girlfriend.

The public learned of the existence of the investigation in 2021, when The New York Times reported that prosecutors were investigating whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old in 2019 and paid for her to travel with him, in violation of federal sex-trafficking laws.

The investigation into Gaetz stemmed from a broader Justice Department inquiry into Gaetz’s longtime associate, Joel Greenberg. Greenberg pleaded guilty in 2021 to six felony counts of sex trafficking, wire fraud, conspiracy, identity theft, and stalking.

According to NBC News, where Gaetz was concerned, investigators were looking at whether the Florida congressman committed three distinct crimes: if he sex-trafficked a minor; if he violated the Mann Act, which bars transporting “any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose” across states lines; and if he obstructed justice.

In September 2022, after more than two years of investigating Gaetz, prosecutors recommended that no charges be filed against the Florida congressman.

The Washington Post reported at the time that prosecutors had concerns about the credibility of two key witnesses and worried that they wouldn’t be able to secure a conviction against Gaetz if they brought charges.

Five months later, in February 2023, the department formally closed the investigation.

Gaetz vehemently denied any wrongdoing throughout the course of the investigation and claimed it was an “organized criminal extortion” scheme against him and his family.

The House Ethics Committee is also investigating whether Gaetz violated sex-trafficking laws. In September, Gaetz said in a statement that he would no longer voluntarily cooperate with that probe. The chairman of the House Ethics Committee said an ethics inquiry is shuttered when a lawmaker leaves Congress since the committee no longer has jurisdiction over them.

“So if Matt Gaetz were to be appointed as the Attorney General, the ethics investigation is currently ongoing, would cease at that point,” Republican committee chairman Representative Michael Guest told ABC.

Trump Cabinet positions: Who has been selected thus far?

Gaetz is among several people who have been nominated for Cabinet positions and key administration roles since Trump was elected president last week.

The president-elect has also tapped the following people to serve in his next administration:

• Secretary of State: Florida Senator Marco Rubio
• Secretary of Defense: Fox News host Pete Hegseth
• Chief of Staff: Former Trump campaign co-chair Susie Wiles
• Director of National Intelligence: Former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard
• Secretary of Homeland Security: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem
• National Security Adviser: Florida Representative Mike Waltz
• Ambassador to the United Nations: New York Representative Elise Stefanik
• Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Former New York Representative Lee Zeldin
• “Border czar”: Tom Homan, who led US Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump’s first term.