Unearthed grand jury subpoena shows scope of Matt Gaetz sex trafficking probe

A grand jury subpoena from last December has shed some light on the scope of the sex trafficking investigation into congressman Matt Gaetz.

The document involved a former employee of one-time Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg. Joe Ellicott was an associate and employee of the disgraced Florida politician who pleaded guilty to counts of sex trafficking and fraud earlier this week. The subpoena was sent to a third party and  obtained by Politico.

The document mentions Greenberg and Gaetz and says investigators are looking for information about crimes “involving commercial sex acts with adult and minor women, as well as obstruction of justice." They ask for all communications, payments, recordings and documents between the unnamed individual and the trio of Ellicott, Greenberg and Gaetz.


Greenberg himself agreed to cooperate with investigators in the probe as part of his plea deal. Reports have claimed that the potential sex trafficking charges being investigated in Gaetz's case might be tied to the same minor who Greenberg pleaded guilty to trafficking.

Since the initial reports of a sex trafficking probe broke, sordid details have been leaking out about the friendship between Greenberg and Gaetz. Multiple women admitted to being paid to attend drug-fueled parties in a Central Florida gated community where both men were present. Gaetz's public Venmo payments to Greenberg seemed to show that Greenberg was paying young women on Gaetz's behalf for unknown services. A letter that was allegedly written by Greenberg seeking a pardon admitted that both Gaetz and Greenberg had sex with an underage girl. Gaetz has repeatedly denied all allegations of wrongdoing.


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