Joel Greenberg, a longtime associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), pleaded guilty to six federal charges.
The Florida politician is a central figure in the investigation into allegations against Gaetz surrounding sex crimes. He pleaded guilty on Monday to six of nearly three dozen federal charges, including sex trafficking of a minor.
Greenberg also admitted to paying at least one underage girl to have sex with him and others. As part of the plea deal, he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
According to The Associated Press, Gaetz was not mentioned during the hearing in court or the plea agreement.
Gaetz has defended himself against the allegations after The New York Times reported he is under investigation over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and “paid for her to travel with him.”
He wrote in an op-ed published in the Washington Examiner in April, “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.”
Gaetz claimed he “never, ever paid for sex,” adding, “I, as an adult man, have not slept with a 17-year-old.”
The congressman also said he is “absolutely not resigning.”
Other lawmakers have called on Gaetz to resign, including Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.).
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suggested it is up to “the Ethics Committee to investigate that.”
She continued, “And it’s up to the Republican leader Mr. McCarthy, to act upon that behavior.”
