President Donald Trump is denying a report in the New York Times that Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who is currently under federal investigation, asked him for a preemptive pardon.
“Congressman Matt Gaetz has never asked me for a pardon. It must also be remembered that he has totally denied the accusations against him," Trump released in a statement Wednesday.
Gaetz is allegedly under investigation for an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl. He denies the accusations and defended himself in an op-ed for the Washington Examiner earlier this week.
Washington scandal cycles are predictable, and sex is especially potent in politics. Let me first remind everyone that I am a representative in Congress, not a monk, and certainly not a criminal.
Folks won’t be surprised that bizarre claims are being made about me shortly after I decided to take on the most powerful institutions in the Beltway.
Yes, just like the mafia, the D.C. swamp protects its “made men.” Since I’m taking my turn under the gun, let me address the allegations against me directly. First, I have never, ever paid for sex. And second, I, as an adult man, have not slept with a 17-year-old.
My lifestyle of yesteryear may be different from how I live now, but it was not and is not illegal. I defended Rep. Katie Hill’s “throuple” when her own Democratic colleagues wouldn’t. I just didn't think it was anyone's business.
It comes as no surprise that my political opponents want to sensationalize and criminalize my prior sex life just as I am getting engaged to the best person I’ve ever known. It is regrettable that the battle of ideas should thus become so personal. But then again, when your ideas suck, you need to stoop this low.
My personal life is and always has been conducted on my own time and my own dime. Consensual adult relationships are not illegal.
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