Key Figure In Gaetz’s Iranian Alibi Denies Extortion Attempt | Talking Points Memo

A self-styled operative who plays a prominent role in Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) claims he is being extorted told CNN on Monday that the congressman was using the situation to distract from his sex trafficking investigation.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1368326

Kent told CNN that “there were no threats. There were no demands.”

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“When I left, the last thing I told Don Gaetz was that you’ll never hear from me again,” Kent told CNN, referring to the congressman’s father. “I’m not a threat to you or your son. I won’t talk to the press. I’m not going to say a bad word about him.”

Hoo boy. Is not lawyering up and not STFU a Florida Man™ thing? And did he kiss “Don Gaetz” on both cheeks?

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This is, at best, a smoke screen by Gaetz. It has absolutely no bearing on whether Gaetz, as everyone suspects, is a sex trafficking pig.

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Katy Hill wrote an interesting article in Vanity Fair about her experience with Gaetz. It softened my lingering anger at her a little bit.

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They’re not sending their best people.

Or maybe they are.

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So why was this Kent guy approaching the Gaetzes about Levinson at all?

As opposed to any other rich person with too much money in their pockets?

Did the Gaetzes have any particular connection to this case?

I’m going to say the movie “Argo” came up in the pitch.

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The plot becomes less viscous.

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I got a feeling he kicked Old Fart Gaetz on both cheeks…

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Exactly. I don’t give a flying fornication abou some extortion attempt. For me, this is solely about sex trafficking with a 17 year old girl.

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“When I left, the last thing I told Don Gaetz was that you’ll never hear from me again,” Kent told CNN, referring to the congressman’s father. “I’m not a threat to you or your son. I won’t talk to the press. I’m not going to say a bad word about him.”

Can we get a clarification on “when I left” happened? And how is a search for a missing FBI agent a threat to Gaetz or his son? And why can’t any of these people shut up?

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Perhaps extortion has clanged from what it used to be: You promise to keep or bury a secret if the person that stands to be harmed by its release pays you. If the whole world knows the ins and outs of Gaetz’s nonsense how do you extort him?

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Mattie is going down just like Gonzaga did last night. Seemingly invincible, they had won every game except for the one that really counted. In stepped Baylor to claim the big prize.

Of course, they had a great season and should be admired and congratulated. Gaetz? Throw him to the lions.

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I liked what her mother had to say, the advice she gave her. Moms know best sometimes.

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The simplest explanation is that harebrained schemes from people with dubious grasps of reality are regular occurrences in the lives of wealthy people. Throw in some super-MAGA “patriotism” and you can see why Kent might think the Gaetzes would share his goals.

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There is likely something else that we don’t know about yet going on here. Right now, we mostly have statements from shady characters. The DOJ will stay mum on what they know until grand juries start issuing indictments. In the meantime, it is like figuring out what is going on in the Kremlin by looking at who is standing with the Premier on May Day in the USSR.

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If you’ve tried to live your life so that you don’t even know people like this and find it hard to imagine how they can walk around being that kind of person, consider your long effort to be a decent, respectable person rewarded. If people aren’t showing you raunchy sex photos or offering to involve you in bizarre plots, pat yourself on the back. This is all a reminder of how much better it is to be, well, better.

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Why can’t we just ask Ron Johnson?

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I suppose it’s the way Donnie looked at it: if you leave it up to the investigators, the story they tell may be in an indictment, and that’s not the story you want ‘people’ thinking of.

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