Florida State Attorney Reveals Whether He Believes Matt Gaetz Will Face Charges Following House Ethics Report

Florida state attorney Dave Aronberg said Monday that former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida is unlikely to face criminal charges despite the allegations detailed in the House Ethics Committee’s report.

The committee’s report accuses Gaetz of breaching Florida’s statutory rape law by allegedly paying a 17-year-old-girl $400 in exchange for sex, claiming that the girl did not disclose her age and the former congressman did not ask. Aronberg, on “ABC News Live,” said the fact that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Justice Department declined to charge Gaetz, along with potential difficulties in corroborating the allegations, indicate the former congressman will evade criminal charges.

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“I think that if the Merrick Garland Justice Department decided they would not bring charges against Matt Gaetz, then the Donald Trump Justice Department certainly won’t either,” Aronberg said. “Especially because, remember, Matt Gaetz was appointed attorney general of the United States by Donald Trump until he had to withdraw his nomination, even after all this stuff was out there … I think at the federal level, there will not be a prosecution in that case.”

“Now it’s always possible that state prosecutors can prosecute Gaetz for the child sex trafficking. There is no statute limitations for that crime. But you’d have to have solid proof that not only did he have sex with the then 17-year-old girl, but that he paid her,” he continued. “And according to the report that has been released, at least a part we know, he paid her $400 in cash, not Venmo. The Venmo came later. So it’s going to be much harder to prove there was a payment of money in exchange for sex. So I don’t anticipate there will be criminal charges against Matt Gaetz.”