A key witness in the investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz’ alleged sex crimes has confirmed that the Florida Republican was told that he had been sleeping with an underage girl, The Daily Beast reports.
The report cites a confession letter from Joel Greenberg in which he claims he called his friend Matt Gaetz on Sept. 4, 2017, to inform him that a teenager both men had paid to have sex with was a minor.
Two sources told the publication that a cooperating witness can confirm details of that call for one damning reason: He was in Greenberg’s office when the call took place.
“The witness, ‘Big Joe’ Ellicott—Greenberg’s longtime best friend and an employee at the Seminole County tax office—recently pleaded guilty to fraud and drug charges as part of a cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors. Although Ellicott has so far avoided any charges regarding sex trafficking of a minor, which Greenberg pleaded guilty to last May, he was present for the call that Greenberg made to Gaetz on Sept. 4, according to two people briefed on the matter. The call, they said, was short—and Gaetz was the one who ended it,” The Daily Beast reported.
The report noted that Ellicott’s account would likely be of critical interest to prosecutors since it would match a key claim Greenberg made separately in a confession letter.
In the letter, which Greenberg wrote after his indictment in late 2020 as part of an effort to land a presidential pardon, the Orlando-area tax official claimed that he, Gaetz, and others had sex with a girl who was 17 years old. Gaetz was 35 at the time —twice her age.
That letter is now in the hands of federal agents, according to the report.
