While MP Matt Gaetz disputes allegations that he was involved in a sexual ring, the Florida Republican’s latest campaign funding report reflects a public relations fight that began just before he admitted to being the focus of a federal investigation. .
The filing, which covers the three months between January and March, shows that Gaetz incurred unprecedented fundraising in a usually quiet period. During that time, Gaetz dropped six digits on a direct mail flash, showing more fundraising services than it did throughout 2020.
Gaetz also paid $ 5,000 in “strategic consulting” fees to notorious political agent Roger Stone and gave money to a number of GOP Florida lawmakers he never supported. The report also indicates that Gaetz – who cites the lack of friends in Washington as a point of pride – may be increasingly isolated; he has not received any input from his GOP colleagues.
More than anything, the submission reflects a concerted effort to support support before the shadow of the investigation. Gaetz spent about $ 170,000 on direct mail this year, of which $ 116,543 in a single day – March 31. New York Times reported that the Justice Department was looking into whether the third-term congressman had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her travel, a possible violation of federal sex trafficking laws.
Gaetz also invested heavily in fundraising, paying Nevada’s Red Rock Strategies nearly $ 160,000 for fundraising consulting. This is about $ 10,000 more than the campaign spent on fundraising services in 2019 and 2020 combined, according to The Daily Beast’s analysis of records in the FEC database.
Last week, Politico also reported that Gaetz recently spent six figures on TV commercials pushing the allegations. The 30-second spots, scheduled to run in his hometown and on certain national cable networks, call on supporters to “fight back” against “a cycle of fake news for several weeks”, which specifically targets CNN. Ad purchases came after the quarterly submission deadline and are not included in the latest report, but should appear in the next submission, which is due in July.
However, one expense in particular will raise eyebrows: a $ 5,000 fee for “strategic policy advice” to Drake Ventures, the company owned by longtime GOP artist and Gaetz associate Roger Stone. On Friday, the DOJ sued Stone and his wife, Nydia, claiming the couple owed millions in unpaid taxes and used Drake Ventures to house more than $ 1 million.
The campaign paid Stone on March 24, just days before Gaetz’s father had a personal meeting with a former DOJ prosecutor, according to someone familiar with the meeting. In a bizarre March 31 interview with Tucker Carlson, Fox News, Matt Gaetz claimed that his father recorded that conversation with the FBI, claiming without evidence that the former prosecutor was at the center of a complicated plan to extort the congressman. The Gaetz campaign had never paid Drake Ventures before.
The report also suggests that Gaetz has few friends in Washington. While Gaetz swore donations from corporate PACs, he kept the door open for donations from candidate committees. But he has so far not reported any financial support in 2021 from friends in Congress, such as Jim Jordan and Stephen Scalise, both donated for his 2020 campaign. And while making donations on the same day with $ 4,000 for Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) in mid-February, Gaetz did not give money to any housemates.
However, Gaetz sent $ 1,000 donations to five GOP Florida senators on January 26th. Gaetz had not previously donated to any of their campaigns.
One of the contributions reflects Gaetz’s ties to his longtime friend Joel Greenberg, whose federal indictment for a number of crimes – including sex trafficking – led to Gaetz’s investigation. The contribution was given to Jason Brodeur, an old ally of Gaetz, who was also close to Greenberg through local GOP circles. Brodeur’s campaign drew attention to dirty tricks, including an alleged fake candidate scheme. Brodeur denied involvement and won that race, now representing Greenberg’s Seminole County at the state level.
Gaetz also continued to accumulate legal fees, a pattern set last summer around the date the DOJ investigation was reportedly launched. The Daily Beast reported earlier this month that weeks after Greenberg was indicted in June 2020, Gaetz paid the law firm Venable LLP $ 38,000, nearly four times the combined amount of legal fees incurred in the past five years. The new record reveals a $ 21,000 payment to Venable in February, bringing the total legal costs to $ 85,000 since Greenberg was charged.
Caleb Burns, a Wiley Rein partner who specializes in campaign finance, told The Daily Beast that increases in legal fees are often accompanied by a parallel increase in fundraising.
“The law allows candidates and incumbents to use campaign contributions for legal expenses arising from the tasks and responsibilities of incumbents and incumbents,” Burns said. “But if an office owner gets into a car accident on the way to the grocery store – which has nothing to do with running or holding office – the law prohibits the use of campaign funds to cover any legal expenses incurred. Therefore, it is not uncommon for candidates and incumbents facing control over their political activities to raise additional funds in their campaigns to help offset the associated legal costs. ”
While it is said that the direction of the Gaetz investigation will focus on allegations of sex trafficking, CNN reported earlier this month that federal investigators are also examining irregularities in campaign funding as part of their larger investigation. Gaetz can legally raise its tents for these expenses.
The congressman has already raised money from the scandal. On April 7, the Talking Points Memo published a fundraising email in which Gaetz criticized the “Far Left New York Times“Because I reported” salacious accusations against me, in an attempt to end my career fighting for the forgotten men and women of this country. ” The email added that it was “a shame that the left is trying to take my life out of their political attacks” and included a donation link asking supporters to “fight the fake news”.
Gaetz’s donor Richard Bell, who gave it to Congressman late last month, told The Daily Beast that although he likes Gaetz’s policies since arriving in DC, Gaetz “should pay the price” if the allegations are true.
“I know there’s a big expense in defense, and I felt like I wanted to help,” Bell said.
Another recent donor, Florida resident Jerry Klinger, told The Daily Beast that he gave it to Gaetz because he agreed with the congressman’s “small government philosophy.” However, Klinger said that “the shadows that have come out since then may have given me a break to reconsider.”
Klinger expressed skepticism about the merits of the DOJ investigation and said he had “no objection” to Gaetz using his donation for legal expenses. He stressed, however, that the congressman comes from a rich and influential family.
“If Daddy wants to pay for the junior, that’s a different story,” he said.