A Florida Republican politician has penned an op-ed lambasting Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for his presumed betrayal of his supporters.
In a piece published by the Pensacola News Journal, Mark Lombardo voiced concerns on behalf of Gaetz’s supporters who are displeased with his actions.
“Like all of Matt Gaetz’s donors, my dad trusted him to use that money to further conservative ideals,” Lombardo wrote. “Had my father known that Gaetz would use his money to pay pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s attorney, he would have never given him a penny.”
Lombardo went on to explain why voters feel betrayed by the Florida lawmaker as he detailed Gaetz’s use of the money voters had donated to his campaign fund.
“Gaetz broke my dad’s, and thousands of other donors’ trust when he used their money to pay the attorney most known for defending the world’s worst child-sex trafficker,” he wrote. “To think that money my dad earned as a decorated combat veteran on the field of battle went to Gaetz’s sex-trafficking defense infuriates me and my family.
“In addition, knowing Gaetz raises money from elderly and working-class people under the deception of making America great and then uses that money for defending himself against charges that have nothing to do with his work in Congress or campaign, is shameful. It’s a total betrayal of trust.”
He went on to criticize the embattled lawmaker over the criminal investigation he is currently facing due to allegations of sex trafficking. “An even bigger betrayal is that Gaetz put himself into a position that he needed a sex-trafficking defense attorney while serving on the Congressional Armed Services Committee,” he wrote.
Due to Gaetz’s status, Lombardo stressed how vulnerable the lawmaker is to becoming a target for blackmail.
“As a member of the Committee, Gaetz has access to Top Secret, classified information,” Lombardo wrote. “Anyone who has worked in national security or for the military knows that engaging in prostitution, orgies, sex trafficking, and illegal drug use while holding a security clearance leaves them vulnerable to blackmail by foreign intelligence agents. This is especially true for senior government officials who partake in illicit activities on foreign soil – like Gaetz is reported to have done.”