FORMER Florida Representative Matt Gaetz and his wife Ginger are expecting their first child together.
Ginger revealed her pregnancy in a joyous social media post on Tuesday, sharing her sonogram and announcing, “Baby Gaetz coming 2025.”
Gaetz, who was originally President Donald Trump‘s selection for attorney general before withdrawing from consideration ahead of the January inauguration, retweeted his wife’s post on X, where she also displayed her baby bump.
The ex-politician-turned-TV anchor, 43, and his spouse, 31, first met at a fundraising event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, in March 2020.
Ginger’s older brother is billionaire Palmer Luckey, the founder of virtual reality company Oculus VR.
Gaetz proposed to Ginger in December 2020, and the two tied the knot in a small ceremony on California’s Catalina Island in August 2021.
Ginger previously told the Daily Mail that her engagement to Gaetz “did not come as a surprise,” adding that she saw it coming.
HOUSE COMMITTEE PROBE
Gaetz had to remove his name from consideration for attorney general last November because he was embroiled in a federal sex-trafficking investigation by the House Ethics Committee on Capitol Hill.
Gaetz, who at the time resigned his seat in the House of Representatives after being nominated by Trump, said his confirmation had “become a distraction” to the incoming administration.
The House investigation stemmed from Gaetz’s alleged involvement in drug-fueled sex parties with women between 2017 and 2020.
Gaetz was accused of engaging in sexual misconduct, drug use, misuse of state identification records, and misspending campaign funds for personal use, among other accusations.
The House Ethics Committee had been investigating the allegations made against Gaetz since 2021, but paused its probe as the Department of Justice opened its investigation.
However, in February 2024, the Department of Justice declined to bring charges against Gaetz following a years-long investigation, citing an inability to make a strong enough case in court.
Once the Justice Department closed its case against Gaetz, the House Ethics Committee resumed its investigation.
The House panel interviewed more than a dozen witnesses and a lawyer for two women who testified before the committee.
‘WEB OF PAYMENTS’
Attorney Joel Leppard testified that Gaetz paid two of his clients in exchange for sex.
One of the women claimed she witnessed Gaetz and another of his associates having sex with a 17-year-old girl.
But the woman said she did not believe Gaetz thought the girl was under 18.
The woman, who was underage at the time, testified to the House Ethics Committee that she had two sexual encounters with Gaetz at a party in 2017.
She also testified about a second sexual encounter with Gaetz and another woman, which was not previously reported, according to CNN.
The other adult woman, who was allegedly involved in the sexual encounter, denied participation in the supposed act with Gaetz and the minor, the outlet reported.
During its investigation into the former congressman, the Department of Justice constructed a payments chart that showed one of Leppard’s clients received over $4,000, and the other received $3,500 from Gaetz via Venmo.
The woman also received money from Gaetz on PayPal, Leppard testified at the time.
Joel Greenberg, a former friend of Gaetz, cooperated with the Department of Justice during its investigation and told authorities about how he and the former politician had sex with the 17-year-old girl.
He also told federal investigators that he and Gaetz believed the woman was over 18.
Greenberg pleaded guilty to sex-trafficking charges in 2021 and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Gaetz has denied all the accusations against him, including that he had sex with a minor.
He has never been formally charged with any crime related to the House Ethics Investigation or Department of Justice probe.
