The Daily Populous Sunday April 11st, 2021 evening edition
Authored by huffpost.com and submitted by Zz22zz22

Beleagured Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who is desperately casting about for explanations and excuses for why he might be the target of a federal sex trafficking investigation, came up with a new one Saturday. He now claims to be a victim of the imaginary “Deep State.”

“I may be a canceled man in some corners,” began his tweet. “I may even be a wanted man by the Deep State,” Gaetz added. “But I hear the millions of Americans who feel forgotten, canceled, ignored, marginalized and targeted.”

I may be a canceled man in some corners. I may even be a wanted man by the Deep State.

But I hear the millions of Americans who feel forgotten, canceled, ignored, marginalized and targeted.

I draw confidence knowing that the silent majority is growing louder every day. — Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) April 10, 2021

It’s difficult to imagine there are “millions of Americans” in Gaetz’s position just now.

Gaetz is currently under investigation by the Justice Department (in a probe that begun during the Trump administration) for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl and paying for her ― and other young women ― to travel across state lines for sex. Federal investigators are reportedly looking into whether Gaetz used any federal campaign money to make the alleged payments, some of which were reportedly made via Venmo, which produced records.

Gaetz is also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

The committee said in a statement that it was checking into “public allegations” that Gaetz may have “engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct.”

The FBI is also examining a “party plane” trip to the Bahamas and female escorts for Gaetz funded by a Florida cannabis entrepreneur in late 2018 or early 2019, several sources told The New York Times. The trip included Gaetz pal and former Florida county tax collector Joel Greenberg, who has been charged with sex trafficking and other crimes, and is reportedly working out a plea deal and cooperating with federal prosecutors.

“I’m sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today,” Greenberg’s lawyer, Fritz Scheller, told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Orlando Friday.

The Florida lawmaker has denied all wrongdoing.

What to say Gaetz’s tweet that he’s just a victim of the Deep State? Critics on Twitter had a few ideas.

Matt Gaetz blaming the “Deep State” on his sex trafficking of minors shows he is in the Deep State of Denial. — MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) April 10, 2021

Imagine being so stupid that you Venmo the cash for your sex trafficking stuff, and then you cry about the “deep state” blah blah.

Here’s this Gaetz tweet in a gif: pic.twitter.com/HYus1SMVzC — Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) April 10, 2021

I think you’re a wanted man by like just the regular state — Emily G (@EmilyGorcenski) April 10, 2021

You’re not a victim. What have you actually done for these silent majority members? What legislation have you sponsored? All you’ve ever done is talk. You don’t actually do your job. You go on Fox and talk shit. It would be more believable if you’ve ever accomplished anything. — Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) April 10, 2021

Dude thinks he’s some kind of a martyr for paying for sex. — Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) April 10, 2021

I thought the deep state was against sex trafficking of minors, no? — PATRICE O'ROURKE WEARS A MASK! 🌊 (@Patrice_Brost1) April 10, 2021

Bill Barr is the deep state? — 🌊🌸Melissa 🌸 (@MeliMels99) April 10, 2021

If you really heard the millions of marginalized Americans, you would have been working on behalf of Americans instead of showing pictures of naked women to your coworkers, while at work. Outside of politics, it is called being fired "for cause", not getting canceled. — Elizabeth MacKenzie (@Dr_Elizabeth97) April 10, 2021

borg on April 11st, 2021 at 02:27 UTC »

He's taking a page from the Trump playbook, fight, fight, fight, never admit you're wrong, double down on everything and eventually you win.

aroq13 on April 11st, 2021 at 02:15 UTC »

That majority is so silent, they lost the senate and the presidency.

S4drobot on April 11st, 2021 at 02:10 UTC »

Florida man pays child for sex, "the deep state made me do it".