(Presidentialwire.com)- Last week, prosecutors from the Justice Department informed witnesses that the DOJ will not be pursuing charges against Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz in its trafficking investigation, CNN reported last week.
For several years, the Florida Republican was under investigation to determine if he had violated trafficking laws and obstructed justice during the probe.
Gaetz has long maintained his innocence.
In a statement to CBS News, Gaetz’s attorneys Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirschner said the DOJ had informed them last Wednesday that the investigation into Gaetz had concluded and no charges would be brought against him.
In a statement last Wednesday, Gaetz’s office confirmed that the Justice Department notified his attorneys that he would not be charged.
In March 2021, the New York Times reported that the Department of Justice was looking into allegations that Gaetz had violated federal sex trafficking laws when he took a 17-year-old to the Bahamas in 2018.
The Justice Department first began looking into the 2018 incident three years ago under Attorney General William Barr. Federal investigators were seeking to determine if any of the women who traveled to the Bahamas with Gaetz were illegally trafficked or paid to engage in sexual acts with the congressman.
Gaetz was allegedly introduced to the girl by former Florida county tax collector Joel Greenberg, an associate of the congressman.
Greenberg was sentenced to 11 years in December after pleading guilty to trafficking a minor, stalking, wire fraud, identity theft, and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
In 2022, a former girlfriend of the congressman was given immunity to testify before the federal grand jury hearing evidence in the investigation.
In September, the Washington Post reported that federal prosecutors were recommending that no charges be brought against Gaetz out of concerns over some potential witnesses, including Greenberg.
