(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIcKeKLs3QA)
Carlson: “This afternoon, The New York Times ran a story saying that Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz is under federal investigation for playing some role in sex trafficking, and potentially having a relationship with a 17-year-old girl. There are very few details in major news outlets tonight about this story, we have no background on it all, and not even any very informed questions. Instead, we've invited Congressman Gaetz on the show to respond to these stories and give us his view of them. Congressman, thanks so much for coming on. Appreciate it. So, this is obviously a serious allegation. Tell us what the truth is, from your perspective.”
Gaetz: “It is a horrible allegation, and it is a lie. The New York Times is running a story that I have traveled with a 17-year-old woman, and that is verifiably false—people can look at my travel records and see that that is not the case. What is happening is an extortion of me and my family, involving a former Department of Justice official. On March 16th, my father got a text message demanding a meeting wherein a person demanded 25 million dollars in exchange for making horrible sex trafficking allegations against me go away. Our family was so troubled by that, we went to the local FBI, and the FBI and the Department of Justice were so concerned about this attempted extortion of a member of Congress that they asked my dad to wear a wire—which he did—with the former Department of Justice official. Tonight I am demanding that the Department of Justice and the FBI release the audio recordings that were made under their supervision and at their direction, which will prove my innocence, and that will show that these allegations aren't true—they're merely intended to try to bleed my family out of money. And this former Department of Justice official, tomorrow, was supposed to be contacted by my father so that specific instructions could be given regarding the wiring of 4.5 million dollars as a down payment on this bribe. I don't think it's a coincidence that tonight, somehow, The New York Times is leaking this information, smearing me, and ruining the investigation that would likely result in one of the former colleagues of the current DOJ being brought to justice for trying to extort me and my family.”
Carlson: “So a couple of obvious questions that come to mind—and again, to restate, this just happened, we don't have any other information beyond what we've already said and what you just said. Who—first of all—who is this Department of Justice former employee who's trying to extort the money from you, you said?”
Gaetz: “His name is David McGee, he was a top official in the leadership in the northern district of Florida as a prosecutor, he currently works at the Beggs & Lane lawfirm—as a matter of fact, one of the recordings that was made at the FBI and Department of Justice request occurred at that lawfirm, and the money that was supposed to be paid today, that would have shown even more evidence of David McGee's work in this extortion scheme, that was foiled by the New York Times story, and I believe that was why this horrible information and these terrible allegations have been used this evening.”
Carlson: “So you're—and I'll get to the investigation in a second—but you're saying that David McGee was motivated by greed—he was trying to extort money from your family, that's his motivation, you're saying?”
Gaetz: “I know that there was a demand for money in exchange for a commitment that he could make this investigation go away, along with his co-conspirators. They even claimed to have specific connections inside the Biden White House. Now, I don't know if that's true—they were promising that Joe Biden would pardon me; obviously I don't need a pardon, I'm not seeking a pardon, I have not done anything improper or wrong. But what I am troubled by is the real motivation for all of this. You know, just tonight, Ted Lieu, a Democrat, is calling on me to be removed from the House Judiciary Committee, and believe we are in an era of our politics now, Tucker, where people are smeared to try to take them out of the conversation. I'm not the only person on screen right now who's been falsely accused of a terrible sex act—you were accused of something you did not do, so you know what this feels like, you know the pain it can bring to your family, and you know how it just puts people on defense when you're accused of something so salacious and awful, but it did not happen, it is not true, and the fact that it is the basis of this attempt to extort my family tells a lot; and if the FBI and Department of Justice will release the tapes that they are in possession of, the American people will see what is really going on.”
Carlson: “You just referred to a mentally ill viewer who accused me of a sex crime 20 years ago, and of course it was not true, I'd never met the person. But I do agree with you that being accused falsely is one of the worst things that can happen, and you do see it a lot. Let's go back to the investigation. You say that it was—that it was or is underway—there was an investigation. What is the basis of that investigation? What is the allegation? That's really not very clear from these news stories.”
Gaetz: “Yeah, again, I only know what I've read in The New York Times. I can say that, actually, you and I went to dinner, about 2 years ago, your wife was there, and I brought a friend of mine, you'll remember her, and she was actually threatened by the FBI, told that if she wouldn't cop to the fact that somehow I was involved in some pay-for-play scheme, that she could face trouble, and so I do believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to smear me. You know, providing for flights and hotel rooms for people that you're dating who are of legal age is not a crime, and I'm just troubled that the lack of any sort of legitimate investigation into me would then permute, would then convert into this extortion attempt.”
Carlson: “I don't remember the woman you're speaking of or the context at all, honestly, but I would like to know who—so they're saying there is a 17-year-old girl who you had a relationship with. Is that true? And who are they—who is this girl? What are they talking about in The New York Times?”
Gaetz: “The person doesn't exist. I have not had a relationship with a 17-year-old. That is totally false. The allegation, as I read it in The New York Times, is that I've traveled with some 17-year-old in some relationship. That is false, and records will bear that out to be false.”
Carlson: “How long has this investigation been going on, do you know?”
Gaetz: “I don't know.”
Carlson: “When were you first informed of it?”
Gaetz: “You know, again, I really saw this as a deeply troubling challenge for my family on March 16th when people were talking about a minor, and that there were pictures of me with child prostitutes—that's obviously false, there will be no such pictures because no such thing happened. But really on March 16th was when this got going from the extortion standpoint.”
Carlson: “So what happens next? I mean, you can see there is this investigation, I guess a criminal investigation; I'm not sure where the sex trafficking part comes in, I don't—again, for the fifth time—I don't understand this story very well, but where does it go from here? I mean, you've made an allegation against someone by name on the air and accused him of trying to extort millions of dollars from your family. What happens tomorrow?”
Gaetz: “Well, what was supposed to happen was the transfer of this money that would have implicated the former colleague of these DOJ officials, but that's obviously not going to happen tomorrow because the New York Times story was leaked in order to quell that investigative effort, so here's what needs to happen next: The FBI and the Department of Justice must release the tapes that are in their possession, that were done at their direction; those tapes will show that I am innocent, and that the whole concept of sex charges against me was really just a way to bleed my family out of money, and probably smear my name because I am a well-known outspoken conservative, and I guess that's out of style in a lot parts of the country right now.” Carlson: “Matt Gaetz, I appreciate you coming on tonight.”
Gaetz: “Thanks for giving me the chance to tell the truth, I appreciate it.”
Carlson: “A more interesting and complicated story than I knew from reading about it, thank you very much.”
(Interview ends)
Carlson: “You just saw our Matt Gaetz interview. That was one of the weirdest interviews I've ever conducted. That story just appeared in the news a couple hours ago, and on the certainty that there's always more than you read in the newspaper, we immediately called Matt Gaetz, and asked him to come on and tell us more. Which, as you saw, he did. I don't think that clarified much, but it certainly showed this is a deeply interesting story, and we'll be following it. Don't quite understand it, but we'll bring you more when we find out.”