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Career prosecutors recommend no charges for Gaetz in sex-trafficking probe

Investigators see credibility challenges for two main witnesses in a probe of the congressman’s alleged past dealings with a then-17-year-old

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Updated September 23, 2022 at 4:21 p.m. EDT|Published September 23, 2022 at 11:04 a.m. EDT
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on April 28 in Washington, D.C. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
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Career prosecutors have recommended against charging Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in a long-running sex-trafficking investigation — telling Justice Department superiors that a conviction is unlikely in part because of credibility questions with the two central witnesses, according to people familiar with the matter.

Senior department officials have not made a final decision on whether to charge Gaetz, but it is rare for such advice to be rejected, these people told The Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the deliberations. They added that it is always possible additional evidence emerges that could alter prosecutors’ understanding of the case.