Exclusive: Attorney for Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend says prosecutors didn’t have credible evidence to charge

A defense lawyer who represented the previous sweetheart of Rep. Matt Gaetz states that district attorneys made the ideal choice not to charge the Florida Republican politician after a yearslong federal sex trafficking examination.

Lawyer Tim Jansen informed CNN on Saturday that Justice Department district attorneys were aggressive with his customer. She was at first approached as a possible target in the sex-trafficking examination however ultimately accepted work together and affirmed prior to an Orlando grand jury hearing proof in the event in 2015.

The ex-girlfriend, whom CNN has actually not called, is not the minor lady at the center of the sex-trafficking examination.

Jansen, who stated the DOJ completely pursued leads versus Gaetz, challenged the concept that the congressman was cleared since he remained in an effective position, arguing that the proof versus Gaetz merely wasn’t reliable and could not hold up in court.

” They turned over every stone. And I believe they eventually decided that they didn’t have proof to show a criminal activity,” Jansen stated. “And I understand critics believe that the congressman in some way purchased it off or in some way utilized his power, however I discovered (federal district attorney) Todd (Gee) really accountable. He was really arranged. He had proof that he thought that he was following, and they made a decision that they weren’t going to charge.”.

CNN has actually connected to the Justice Department for remark.

CNN initially reported today that the Justice Department had actually notified legal representatives for Gaetz and a number of witnesses that it would not prosecute the GOP legislator.

Last fall, detectives dealing with the case advised not bringing charges amidst issues that the main witnesses in the event would not be viewed as reliable, consisting of Joel Greenberg, a previous Seminole County, Florida, tax collector who pleaded guilty to 6 federal criminal offenses, consisting of sex trafficking, and accepted work together with the federal government.

The DOJ’s official choice not to charge Gaetz, who has actually been serving in Congress because 2017, marks completion of a long-running examination into accusations that the congressman broke federal law by carrying minor ladies throughout state lines for sex.

Gaetz has actually consistently rejected any misdeed.

Jansen informed CNN that his customer was at first threatened with prosecution by federal detectives as part of the examination. Her phone was taken, and she was informed she might be a target in the examination. She eventually ended up being a witness, Jansen stated.

However Jansen stated the issues with Greenberg’s reliability and the disparities in the testament of the females eventually triggered Gee, a deputy chief of the Justice Department’s public stability area, not to charge Gaetz.

” In order to prosecute a case, you need to have reliable proof, either concrete witnesses, and in this case, there was no reliable proof of any misdeed,” Jansen stated. “Joel Greenberg was someone who (you) could not place on the witness stand, as a district attorney. I think these females; none thought they were victims of any criminal activity.”.