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Gates’ office has repeatedly questioned the credibility of his former Wingman, Joel Greenberg.
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However, the text message indicates that Greenberg may have a receipt to support his claim to Gates.
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“If I was the one who committed the crime, I wouldn’t really feel comfortable [Greenberg] Now, “a former FBI agent told insiders.
Gates has been a credibility of Greenberg as a government witness since it was revealed that former Wingman Matt Gaetz, Joel Greenberg, had worked with prosecutors in a widespread sexual trafficking investigation. Focused on distorting.
But on friday The Daily Beast Report Greenberg has indicated that he may have a receipt to support his claim.
“This is not good news for Matt Gaetz.” Cherine EvadiA former FBI agent, who acted as chief agent in a government proceeding against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, told insiders.
The text messages detailed in the story do not feature Gates. They were between Greenberg and his friend Joe Elicot. He used to work in Greenberg when he was a Florida tax collector.
According to the report, the text was exchanged with the encrypted messaging app Signal, which disappeared in 30 seconds. But Greenberg took a screenshot of the message. There, he and Jericot expressed fear that they and others in their circle could be held criminally liable for having sex with minors. Jericot was not charged with the crime and did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Gates wasn’t a participant in the conversation outlined in the story, but legal experts said the presence of the screenshots could cause problems for confused lawmakers as he continues to cast doubt on Greenberg. Said there is.
“If Greenberg has texts between himself and Jericot, it’s certainly feasible that he had other evidence and had enough knowledge to take screenshots of those texts. “Evidence said.
“It seems that he might have had all the evidence that he might have had to use it for leverage,” she added. “I wouldn’t be really comfortable if I were the one who committed the crime with him now because he keeps the person’s files. It could be very terrible and very helpful to the prosecutor. There is. “
Jeffrey KramerA former federal prosecutor, who spent 12 years in the Justice Ministry, reiterated that view.
“Greenberg was thinking four steps ahead of Matt Gaetz,” he told insiders, adding that the fact that Greenberg kept a record of his conversation “absolutely enhances his credibility.” ..
“You can’t look at the screenshots to each other,” he said, referring to a text message. “Greenberg insured himself.”
Gates has not been charged with a crime and has denied cheating. His spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for insider commentary on the story.
It is a routine practice for investigators to search for additional evidence, such as electronic records, emails, and financial statements, to support the witness’s testimony. This is especially true for witnesses like Greenberg, who have been charged with felony near three dozen. Acknowledge sin Earlier this week 6 of those countsIncludes the implementation of sexual trafficking of children.
“The fact that Greenberg has screenshots of conversations with someone else, they talked about their illegal activities, which certainly helps his trust with the federal government.” Neama RahmaniA former federal prosecutor who worked on drug and trafficking cases told insiders.
“This is a recognized serious offense and will be a convicted sex offender,” he added. “The prosecutor needs to not only say what he wants to hear to shorten his sentence, but also make sure he works and is honest.”
As far as the screenshots of the text are concerned, Evadi said, “Evidence makes Greenberg’s statement more credible.”
“The way you work your way towards bigger fish is for you to work together.”
Gates’ investigation focuses on whether he violated federal sex trafficking laws. According to The New York Times, he is suspected of having sex with someone 17 years old in 2019. The same person was involved in the number of sexual trafficking cases against Greenberg.
The Daily Beast used to be Greenberg In writing He and Gates were paying for sex with a minor. Greenberg wrote to long-time Republican strategist Roger Stone in a final bid for amnesty weeks before President Donald Trump resigned in January. Like Jericot, Greenberg also took screenshots of a conversation with Stone, who was previously convicted of a felony.
Jericot’s name has recently emerged Reported by Politico He was nominated in a federal grand jury subpoena sent by an investigator to another person.
The subpoena, along with Jericot, referred to Gates, Greenberg, and former Florida State Capitol Halsey Beshares, who knew Gates at the Florida State Capitol. Beshears also traveled to the Bahamas with Gates in 2018. Scrutinizing As part of their sexual trafficking survey.
“The way to get to the bigger fish is to work together,” Evadi said. “So the federal government was able to get Greenberg and cooperate with him against Elicot. If he got Elicot, they might use him to get to the Beschers. It’s totally unusual. , I think it’s pretty reasonable. “
Turning a witness over to testify to a person of high importance is a standard prosecution tactic. And when such a case was brought to justice, Mr. Evadi said, “When all these people are saying the same thing, it is the testimony of a collaborator who is a convicted serious offender. It’s a much stronger and more reliable testimony than that. “
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