The Federal Election Commission threw out a complaint last month against Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., that accused him of improperly using campaign funds.
The original complaint had alleged that the lawmaker used campaign funds to pay attorneys abetting him in a protracted Department of Justice investigation over sex trafficking allegations.
After looking into it for nearly three years, DOJ officials ended the probe in February. The investigation centered on claims that he paid women for sex and traveled overseas to meet underage girls.
Gaetz maintained his innocence throughout the probe and suggested that it was connected to a bizarre $25 million extortion attempt against his father, which has not been proven.
The person responsible in that case, real estate developer Stephen Alford, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to constructing the scheme against Don Gaetz, a former Florida Senate president.
Gaetz told Politico on Wednesday that the person who initially filed it, rival Republican politician Cris Dosev, lacked any basis for the claims.
"Cris Dosev has lost every FEC complaint he has filed as a gadfly — and every election he has run in as a candidate, including two to me," Gaetz stated. "Here's hoping he finds less expensive, more productive hobbies for himself going forward."
Still, the outlet noted that Gaetz's campaign paid around $200,000 in legal fees between November 2020 and October 2021, including payments to an attorney who primarily handles criminal cases.
Dosev slammed the FEC decision when asked by Politico, arguing that it "never really referenced the basis of the allegations in their response."
"There is a two-tier justice system, and it is clearly more evident every day that passes," Dosev contended.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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