Rep. Matt Gaetz’s campaign paid $25,000 in June to a Manhattan criminal defense attorney who lists Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who killed himself in prison, as a notable client, according to a filing Thursday with the Federal Election Commission.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press
The Florida Republican and acolyte of former president Donald Trump is under investigation for possible sex trafficking of a minor. A spokesman for Gaetz did not address the payment but touted the congressman’s fundraising haul, which totaled more than $1.3 million in the second quarter of the year.
The June payment, for legal consulting, went to the law office of Marc Fernich, whose website says he specializes in “subtle, novel and creative arguments that other attorneys may miss.”
“These arguments can make potential winners out of seemingly hopeless cases, spelling the difference between victory and defeat,” the site adds.
It lists Epstein, along with Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, the Mexican kingpin known as “El Chapo,” among his “Notable Clients.” Fernich did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The campaign also paid $25,000 for legal consulting to Zuckerman Spaeder, a large D.C.-based firm that also did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
The $1.3 million raked in by Gaetz between April and June is a sizable sum for a member of Congress under investigation by the Justice Department as well as the House Ethics Committee. He spent about $1.8 million in the same period, the filing shows, and has $1.6 million on hand.
Virtually all of Gaetz’s contributions were from individual donors rather than party committees or PACs, the filing shows. He did receive a financial boost from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, whose reelection campaign supplied Gaetz with $3,000 last month.
“Our FEC filings speak for themselves,” said Gaetz’s spokesman, Harlan Hill. “Despite an endless stream of lies from the media, Congressman Gaetz continues to be among the most prodigious fundraisers in Congress and is the only Republican who doesn’t accept donations from federal lobbyists or PACs. He thanks his tens of thousands of donors and promises to always fight for them.”
Gaetz, who represents a conservative district in Florida’s Panhandle, has risen to prominence as a combative defender of Trump, often taking his case to cable TV. The Justice Department has been examining whether a former county tax collector, Joel Greenberg, procured women for Gaetz and whether the two men shared sexual partners, including a 17-year-old girl. Gaetz has said he never had intercourse with a 17-year-old, which is considered statutory rape in Florida.
The Washington Post’s Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.
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