Andrew Trunsky
Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger became the first congressional Republican to call for Rep. Matt Gaetz’s resignation amid a growing investigation that he had sex with a minor and violated sex trafficking laws.
“Matt Gaetz needs to resign,” Kinzinger tweeted late Thursday, attaching a Daily Beast report that the Florida Republican used Venmo to pay an alleged sex trafficker $900 in 2018. The report adds that the recipient, Joel Greenberg, transferred sums of money totaling $900 to teenaged girls.
Greenberg is reportedly seeking a plea deal with prosecutors, and faces dozens of federal charges.
Kinzinger’s tweet is not the first time the two House members have clashed. A vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, he launched a PAC seeking to aid like-minded GOP candidates and called out Gaetz – a high-profile Trump ally – and his inflammatory rhetoric in the process.
“All you have to do is see people like, of course, Marjorie Taylor Greene. You look at people like Matt Gaetz, who know better,” Kinzinger said. “I think neither of them believes the stuff they ascribe to, they just want the fame.”
“Fucking bring it,” Gaetz later responded.
The investigation surrounding Gaetz, 38, was first reported by The New York Times, which said that the Department of Justice was investigating him over allegedly having a sexual relationship with a minor and paying for her travel.
Gaetz has flatly rejected the allegations against him, and has said that he has no plans to resign.
Two Gaetz staffers have resigned since news of the investigation broke, including Luke Ball, his communications director.
Other News: Trump Says Gaetz Never Asked For A Pardon, Gaetz Denies Allegations Of Sex Trafficking
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Rep Adam Kinzinger is not a Republican and is not voting for any Republican agendas. To call him a GOP Rep is a falsehood. He also voted for Trump’s impeachment. I believe people are innocent until proven guilty in this country, aren’t they? Has Rep. Matt Gaetz had any due process? No. The only thing we can really understand here is that Rep Adam Kinzinger doesn’t believe in or uphold the Constitution, as he has shown on more than one occasion, this being one of them.