Matt Gaetz deflects accusations he paid for 'naughty favors,' says the corruption actually lies in legislative earmarks

• At an appearance in Ohio, Matt Gaetz tried to deflect allegations that he paid for sex with a minor.
• The beleaguered Florida lawmaker once again denied that he exchanged cash for “naughty favors.”
• Instead, he called out earmarks — which are legal — for being corrupt acts of exchanging cash for favors.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Controversial Florida lawmaker Matt Gaetz said on Saturday that allegations that he paid for sex were false — and compared these accusations to legislative earmarks. 

Denying once again all allegations of sexual misconduct, the embattled congressman drew an equivalency between paying for sex and earmarks — a legal congressional process where funds can be marked out to be spent on specific projects. 

“I’m being falsely accused of exchanging money for naughty favors,” Gaetz said at the Ohio Political Summit, a GOP conference in Cleveland, as reported by MSNBC.

“Yet, Congress has reinstituted a process that legalizes the corrupt act of exchanging money for favors, through earmarks, and everybody knows that that’s the corruption,” Gaetz added. 

NBC News reported that Gaetz’s keynote speech at the Ohio conference was given to 400 people, and was advertised as a prominent GOP forum in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections.

During his speech, Gaetz side-stepped references to the sex trafficking allegations that have been leveled against him, while comparing these accusations to earmarks. Congressional earmarks, often used by lawmakers to fund pet projects in their states, returned to use in legislation this year — and are not the same as exchanging cash for sex. 

It was reported last week that Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg plans to plead guilty to six felony counts including sex trafficking, identity theft, and wire fraud. Greenberg cooperating with law enforcement could be bad news for Gaetz —as Greenberg was accused of carrying out the sex trafficking of a minor between the ages of 14 and 17. This minor is the same individual with whom Gaetz is suspected of having a sexual relationship.

Gaetz made his speech in Ohio after The Daily Beast reported on Friday that he snorted cocaine and had sex with an escort who was paid with campaign money.

Gaetz has repeatedly denied all accusations that he had sex with a minor, despite being the subject of a federal sex-trafficking investigation.

Greenberg is expected to strike a plea deal today. Meanwhile, Gaetz takes his “America First” tour with fellow GOP lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene to Arizona. 

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