Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has claimed that the sexual misconduct allegations made against him were part of an extortion scheme, and Bob Kent, one of the men allegedly involved in the scheme, all but confirmed in an interview on âThe Michael Smerconish Programâ on SiriusXM radio on Monday that he had asked Gaetzâs father for $25 millionâbut insists it was not extortion.
âMatt Gaetz is in need of good publicity, and Iâm in need of $25 million to rescue Robert Levinson,â Kent said on the show, and acknowledged that he asked Gaetzâs father for the money.
âAt first he started laughing and he said, âYou know we get these extortion attempts all the time,â And I said whoa, stop. This is not an extortion attempt. Iâm not trying to extort him, Iâm not, you know, thatâs not what weâre doing here.â
But according to a report from the Washington Examiner, Gaetz, âpossesses text message screenshots, an email, and a typed document that purportedly support his claims that a federal investigation into his relationship with a 17-year-old is related to an extortion scheme against him.â According to screenshots provided to the Washington Examiner, Rep. Gaetzâs father, Don Gaetz, a former Florida state Senate president, received a text message from Kent on March 16 proposing âa plan that can make [Matt Gaetzâs] future legal and political problems go away.â
Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.