Matt Gaetz

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
Gaetz Paid Accused Sex Trafficker, Who Then Venmo’d Teen ...
Panic ensues .....

In two late-night Venmo transactions in May 2018, Rep. Matt Gaetz sent his friend, the accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg, $900. The next morning, over the course of eight minutes, Greenberg used the same app to send three young women varying sums of money. In total, the transactions amounted to $900.

The memo field for the first of Gaetz’s transactions to Greenberg was titled “Test.” In the second, the Florida GOP congressman wrote “hit up ___.” But instead of a blank, Gaetz wrote a nickname for one of the recipients. (The Daily Beast is not sharing that nickname because the teenager had only turned 18 less than six months before.) When Greenberg then made his Venmo payments to these three young women, he described the money as being for “Tuition,” “School,” and “School.”

The Daily Beast examined these records as a scandal, rooted in a criminal case against Greenberg, engulfs Gaetz.

Greenberg—the former Seminole County tax collector—has now been federally indicted on 33 counts, including sex trafficking crimes involving a 17-year-old. Court documents say Greenberg was “engaged in ‘sugar daddy’ relationships.” And The New York Times says a Justice Department investigation is looking into Gaetz’s involvement in the cash-for-sex ring.

Gaetz and Greenberg are both connected through Venmo to this then-18-year-old woman—who now works in the porn industry, according to a friend of the girl. And on Thursday, Greenberg’s attorney and prosecutors indicated during a court hearing that they expect Greenberg to strike a plea deal, likely meaning he plans to cooperate with investigators.

That could be potentially disastrous for Gaetz, as investigators look into the connections between these two men. And one particularly damning connection is their financial transactions.

This week, during the reporting of this story, Gaetz’s once-public list of Venmo transactions disappeared. Greenberg’s Venmo account is not currently publicly accessible. But The Daily Beast was able to obtain partial records of Greenberg’s past online transactions through a source...... gotta love investigative journalism .

Greenberg and Gaetz are also connected on Venmo to at least one other woman that Greenberg paid with taxpayer funds using a government-issued credit card. Seminole County auditors flagged hundreds of those payments as “questioned or unaccounted for,” and in total found more than $300,000 in suspicious or unjustified expenses. The Daily Beast was able to obtain that credit card data through a public records request.

“No one has any idea what he was doing. Zero,” said Daniel J. O'Keefe, an accountant who conducted a forensic audit for the county. “The arrogance of these guys. They just felt they were above the law. I've never seen it this bad.”

O’Keefe was particularly puzzled by weekend expenses, hotels, unspecified high-dollar “consulting” fees, and cash advances that Greenberg made to himself and others. The Daily Beast has compared Greenberg’s credit card statements and Venmo transactions to Gaetz’s expenses and travel records—compiled through campaign finance reports, Instagram posts, and Venmo—and found that, in some key places, the two timelines and circles of contact overlap.

Gaetz and Greenberg share Venmo connections with at least two women who received payments from Greenberg, and both have professional relationships with each other.

In 2018, Greenberg also paid another woman, a mutual friend of Gaetz's, several thousand dollars using his taxpayer-backed Seminole County-issued Wells Fargo Visa card, according to county financial records obtained by The Daily Beast. Auditors flagged the transactions, saying that, despite having a contract and invoice from the company, they “do not know what it was for.”

Last week, The New York Times reported that the Justice Department was investigating Gaetz for allegedly paying for a 17-year-old girl to travel with him across state lines and inducing her to have sex—an act that would violate federal child sex trafficking laws. The investigation reportedly dates back to last summer, when it sprung from the ongoing Greenberg probe. According to the Times, the two men reportedly had sex with and trafficked the same 17-year-old girl.

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CCGNZ

Well-Known Member
Trump has no ideology, he was looking for attention, connections and influence and would give money to get it. The democrats are the power in NY and Donald tried to suck their asses until he realized how fucking stupid republican voters are.
Yup DIY, they are stupid, the problem is that as time goes by I'm starting to realize that if I'm ever going to see anything remotely resembling unity in my country about 1/2 of his "people" are going to have to be brought back under the tent so to speak, figure 45% of voters were in his camp , we need to get at least a third of them to come on over to a reasonable line of thinking, how this is done your guess is as good as mine,but if all his supporters hold firm the ship won't pass through the storm.I'm not a kumbaya type by any means but it pains me to look at the state of our political situation as it never has before, it's just too nasty and it only benefits the US's adversaries.ccguns
 

DIY-HP-LED

Well-Known Member
Yup DIY, they are stupid, the problem is that as time goes by I'm starting to realize that if I'm ever going to see anything remotely resembling unity in my country about 1/2 of his "people" are going to have to be brought back under the tent so to speak, figure 45% of voters were in his camp , we need to get at least a third of them to come on over to a reasonable line of thinking, how this is done your guess is as good as mine,but if all his supporters hold firm the ship won't pass through the storm.I'm not a kumbaya type by any means but it pains me to look at the state of our political situation as it never has before, it's just too nasty and it only benefits the US's adversaries.ccguns
It is a time of over due change and it always looks like this, America will come out of it better and stronger, what don't kill ya makes ya stronger. The polarization is a good thing, it lines up all the player on the right sides and the racist fools no longer populate both parties. America worked ok, as long as black people were excluded and there was an unspoken agreement among the parties, each with a strong racist representation. Both sides were the same a few decades ago in terms of racism (though the republican were worse) and big money interests, but corporate America is now drawn into the fight too and they can see what way the wind is blowing.

Like it or not Trump changed America and destroyed the republican party, moving forward their brand has been destroyed among future and young voters. Joe's team is looking closely at the roots of their support and are whittling them away around the edges. There are more independents now than republicans, but half of them are former republicans too ashamed to admit it or register as one, that is Joe's target. Anybody who is still a republican is more or less a write off, the independents are the ones who broke from the tribe and are sitting on the sidelines. They are conservatives, progressives and mostly centrists, the point is they are subject to reason and facts, unlike the remaining republican base.
 

CCGNZ

Well-Known Member
Body builders get old too...
Working out is as much for my mind as my body, I liken a workout to a mental toilet flush, bad news,bad thoughts>workout>positive ready to face the day W/good attitude.ccguns
It is a time of over due change and it always looks like this, America will come out of it better and stronger, what don't kill ya makes ya stronger. The polarization is a good thing, it lines up all the player on the right sides and the racist fools no longer populate both parties. America worked ok, as long as black people were excluded and there was an unspoken agreement among the parties, each with a strong racist representation. Both sides were the same a few decades ago in terms of racism (though the republican were worse) and big money interests, but corporate America is now drawn into the fight too and they can see what way the wind is blowing.

Like it or not Trump changed America and destroyed the republican party, moving forward their brand has been destroyed among future and young voters. Joe's team is looking closely at the roots of their support and are whittling them away around the edges. There are more independents now than republicans, but half of them are former republicans too ashamed to admit it or register as one, that is Joe's target. Anybody who is still a republican is more or less a write off, the independents are the ones who broke from the tribe and are sitting on the sidelines. They are conservatives, progressives and mostly centrists, the point is they are subject to reason and facts, unlike the remaining republican base.
That's well put, I also see a big US divide between urban/rural, I'm convinced that a lot of small town Americans particularly inthe big mdwestern and western states that look at urban areas like its another planet. They are shocked at the multiculturism and progressive lean of these ares and can never get on board with it. That's why you have people w/no business economically casting votes for Reps when financially they should be w/Dems, I mean if I lived in a one stoplight town all my life I'd probably be shocked to by what life looks like in cities.ccguns
 

DIY-HP-LED

Well-Known Member
Working out is as much for my mind as my body, I liken a workout to a mental toilet flush, bad news,bad thoughts>workout>positive ready to face the day W/good attitude.ccguns
I used to teach meditation and may again when this shit is over and I can get a group together again. Connecting with your body is the core of a practice, feelings arise in the body (think of a cat) and are reflected into the mind as emotions and emotions and feelings drive our thoughts and establish our preferences and biases. When you attend to your bodily sensations during physical exercise you become aware of your feelings more easily, feelings in this case are based on approach and avoidance behaviors, attraction and aversion, the same basic things that drive lower animals, this lies at the base of the emotional stack.

I really hate sucking the mystery and romance out of the subject cause it serves to inspire many, but it is simply exercise that builds your brain like physical exercise builds your body. Unlike physical exercise, it has a limited scope of activity and is mostly confined to the brain's PFC, though there are many benefits. Like physical training, it takes about 8 weeks to experience the full spectrum of perceptual and psychological changes. You know it's exercise because it takes effort to get around to it, even if you know it makes you feel good. It is a discipline and the sitting meditation is only part of it, you train to meditate on everything you do that doesn't involve too much thinking and logic. In meditation we get into our senses and out of our mind, physical training is a great addition to a practice and physical conditioning speeds up the process. When you train, keep your focus on the sensations of movement and stress, when you catch your mind wandering, bring it back to the object of practice, just like with the breath.

A side effect is being happier than you ever thought possible, happiness is an end, it has no ulterior motive, we do everything else in life to attain it. Meditation also cures most depression and is the premier treatment for it these days.

Here is where I send beginners these days
Online MBSR/Mindfulness (Free) (palousemindfulness.com)

If ya got kids
Mindful Schools | Mindfulness for Your School, Teachers, and Students
 

DIY-HP-LED

Well-Known Member
Matt is the warm up act for Donald.
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Tom Winter Breaks Down Latest Developments In Rep. Gaetz Probe

NBC National Security and Justice Correspondent Tom Winter reports that federal prosecutors and the attorney for Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-FL) associate, Joel Greenberg, say in court that they expect a plea in his case. Winter explains how important that testimony would be as the investigation continues.
 
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