The Washington Examiner reported Wednesday that Rep. Matt Gates said Tuesday night that a federal investigation into his relationship with a 17-year-old girl was linked to a blackmail scheme against him. On Wednesday Gates’ father provided screenshots of text messages, an email and a typed document to support Gates’ claim.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Justice Department is investigating whether Gates had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for the girl’s travel expenses. Gates called the report “completely false. Gates told media outlet Axios that the attorney said he was “not the target of the investigation for sex with women, but rather the subject of the investigation.
The Florida Republican took to Twitter to refute the New York Times report in statements to both “Worth It” and Fox News, where Gates said his Family was extorted for $25 million and that the FBI had begun an investigation. Gates said the people touting that his relationships with women are being investigated are the same people who blackmailed him and have been the subject of an FBI blackmail investigation in the past few weeks.
Documents in Gates’ possession tell of an alleged scheme in which Bob Kent, a former Air Force intelligence officer, and David McGee, a lawyer with the law firm Beggs& Lane and a former federal prosecutor, tried to free former FBI agent Robert Levinson from prison in Iran.
Levinson disappeared in Iran in March 2007, and McGee was an attorney for Levinson’s family. Kent had planned a secret mission in December 2018 to try to rescue Levinson, but he was reportedly blocked by the federal government.
A screenshot of a text message provided to The Washington Examiner by Gates’ father, former Florida Senate President Don Gates, shows that he received a message from Kent on March 16. The message offered “a plan to make Gates’ future legal and political problems disappear. But Gates denied any involvement with the minor.
The text message Don Gates received on March 16
Although Levinson’s family said in March 2020 that it estimated Levinson was dead based on information provided by U.S. officials, Kent said he had found Levinson in Iran and had two “proof videos that he is still alive. Kent asked the Gates family to help return Levinson in exchange for credit for Matt Gates’ part in the operation and a presidential pardon as a result.
The next day, March 17, Don Gates met with Kent, who handed him a three-page document outlining Project Homecoming, detailing a plan to save Levinson in exchange for a $25 million loan.
The Project Homecoming offered by the blackmailers
In 1983, Don Gates co-founded VITAS Medical, and in 2004, he and his co-founders sold their shares in the company for $406 million. In the “Homecoming Plan” document, Kent requested that the loan be deposited into a trust account at the law firm of Bygosley and given to McGee by name, no later than March 19.
The Project Homecoming documents state that Gates is “under investigation by the FBI for a variety of public corruption and public integrity issues” and that the FBI is aware of photos of Gates’ “sexual orgies with underage prostitutes.
The document reads, “Gates helped to secure the funds being arranged and delivered Mr. Levinson to the President of the United States’ team after his release. Strongly advocate that President Biden issue a presidential pardon or direct the Department of Justice to terminate any and all investigations involving Congressman Gates.”
The document also implies that the White House had knowledge of the plan.” The president has assured the panel that he will strongly consider the issues because he considers Levinson’s release a matter of national urgency. But the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stephen M. Alford, who has previously faced fraud and racketeering charges, also reportedly attended the March 17 meeting.
Another email chain appears to confirm the existence of an FBI investigation into the racketeering claims.
Don Gaetz’s attorney, Neiman, said in a March 25 e-mail to the Justice Department, “My client, Don Gaetz, was approached by two individuals demanding a sizable sum of money in what I call a fraudulent scheme. the FBI is not asking Don to voluntarily volunteer to assist them in their investigation, but Don is willing to do so. Please confirm that your office and the FBI would like Don to assist in this matter and that he will do so as requested by the government.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Goldberg responded, “I can confirm that your client is working with my office as well as the FBI at the request of the government to determine if a federal crime has been committed. This has been discussed with and approved by the FBI and the leadership of my office and the primary Justice Department.”
The Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment on the email or the existence of a racketeering investigation. Neiman also declined to comment.
Gates, who said on Fox News Tuesday night that his father wore a wire to assist in the case, asked “the Justice Department and the FBI to release the recordings under their supervision and direction, which would prove my innocence.”
He suspects that the New York Times leaked the investigation into whether he had sex with a 17-year-old in order to thwart the FBI’s investigation into the blackmail case.
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