Ex-US Congressman says ‘Israel’ framed him in underage sex scandal

• Matt Gaetz said that the sexual misconduct and prostitution claims against him were an "Israeli extortion op" designed to silence his isolationist foreign policy and his criticism of the Netanyahu government's expansionism.
• He dismissed the House Ethics Committee report as a "criminal shakedown," claiming it was linked to a 2021 $25 million extortion attempt involving a former ‘Israeli’ consulate contractor, despite the committee's findings of "substantial evidence" of law violations.

Former US Representative Matt Gaetz said in a Tuesday interview on The Tucker Carlson Show that allegations of engaging in prostitution and sexual relations with an underage girl were fabricated as part of an ‘Israeli’ extortion operation aimed at silencing his isolationist foreign policy positions.

Gaetz, a Republican from Florida who resigned from Congress in November 2024, described the accusations as a deliberate "op" orchestrated to undermine his criticism of certain ‘Israeli’ government actions, stating, "It was an op to silence me, and Israel was involved, and I hate to say that."

The claims emerged amid the recent release of a 2024 House Ethics Committee report detailing evidence against him.

Gaetz categorically denied the Ethics Committee's findings, which included accusations of statutory rape, commercial sex acts, and illicit drug use.

He said that the process lacked fairness, as he was not afforded the opportunity to question witnesses or review underlying records in a formal setting.

According to Gaetz, this absence of due process underscored the falsity of the claims, noting, "No one has ever accused me in a place where I’m allowed to defend myself…That’s how you know it was an operation.”

He further contended that the allegations stemmed from a broader effort to discredit him following a Department of Justice investigation that concluded without charges in 2023.

Central to Gaetz's narrative is an alleged extortion scheme targeting his family in 2021, shortly after the initial allegations surfaced.

He recounted that Stephen Alford, a Florida resident, approached his father with purported images of Gaetz with underage prostitutes, demanding $25 million in exchange for making the accusations disappear and aiding in the rescue of a US intelligence asset held in Iran.

The Gaetz family reported the incident to the FBI, and Alford subsequently pleaded guilty to fraud charges related to false promises of a presidential pardon.

Gaetz specifically implicated ‘Israel’ in the plot, alleging involvement by Jake Novak, a former contractor for the ‘Israeli’ consulate in New York and current media host, who reportedly communicated details of the scheme to cartoonist Scott Adams.

"It was troubling and concerning to me that someone who was getting paid by the Israeli government was involved in a criminal shakedown of a US congressman," Gaetz said.

"There was never really an effort to figure out what the government of Israel's involvement was in this matter. But you know that the government of Israel was involved because this was an Israeli government official who was involved in this."

Novak has denied any role in extortion or fraud, asserting no connection to Alford and saying that his interactions were unrelated to any shakedown.

The House Ethics Committee report, released in December 2024, concluded there was substantial evidence that Gaetz violated state laws through payments for sex, including with a 17-year-old in 2017, and drug use at related events.

The investigation drew on witness testimonies, financial records showing over $10,000 in payments to women, and associations with convicted associate Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking a minor.

Although the DOJ declined to prosecute Gaetz due to witness credibility issues, the Ethics probe persisted until his resignation halted further proceedings under House rules.

Gaetz framed the operation as retaliation for his foreign policy views, describing himself as pro-‘Israel’ but opposed to the Netanyahu government's "adventurism and expansionism," which he likened to US interventions that exacerbate conflicts.

Representing a military-heavy district, he advocated for isolationism, rejecting US entanglements in Middle East wars and criticizing patterns of outreach followed by pressure from ‘Israeli’ entities.

He also addressed antisemitism, arguing that its definition has been broadened to stifle policy critiques, stating, "Anti-semitism used to mean somebody who didn’t like Jews. Now it just means somebody Jews don’t like."