Former President Donald Trump issued a statement denying CNN’s report that he recently rejected Rep. Matt Gaetz’s request to meet with him at Mar-a-Lago amid the federal investigation into sex trafficking accusations involving a 17-year-old that the Republican Florida congressman reportedly is facing, Talking Points Memo reported Tuesday.
"Fake News CNN, relying on all anonymous sources, meaning they probably made the whole thing up, wrote a very dishonest story claiming Congressman Matt Gaetz asked for a meeting with me at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, and was denied," Trump said. "This is completely false."
CNN reported the former president's aides rejected a request by Gaetz, one of Trump's most vocal backers in the House, to meet at Mar-a-Lago, and warned Trump against going out of his way to support the congressman.
Gaetz and Jason Miller, one of Trump's top advisers, also called CNN’s report false.
Gaetz tweeted that CNN’s report "is a total lie. I am on a preplanned vacation with my fiancée. I was welcomed at Trump Doral days ago. No such meeting was denied nor sought. Gabby, 'unnamed sources' lied. When can we expect a retraction?"
Miller wrote on Twitter that "this CNN story is complete fake news. No such scheduling or meeting request was ever made, and therefore, it could never have been declined. Take note that this story has zero on-the-record sources. It’s literally made-up. We are demanding a full retraction."
Trump mostly has been quiet about the scandal confronting Gaetz, who repeatedly has claimed the allegations against him are part of an extortion plot by a former federal prosecutor.
However, following a New York Times report that Gaetz asked for a blanket pardon against any criminal wrongdoing while the former president was still in office, Trump last week issued a statement saying that "Congressman Matt Gaetz has never asked me for a pardon. It must also be remembered that he has totally denied the accusations against him," The Hill reported.
In his latest statement regarding the CNN report, Trump said the media should concentrate on an alleged relationship between Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and a Chinese spy instead of on the accusations against Gaetz.
"Why doesn't CNN investigate and write about lightweight Democrat Congressman Eric Swalwell, who had a torrid and physical relationship with the Chinese spy Fang-Fang, but is somehow on the once-prestigious House Intelligence Committee," Trump said. "Swalwell, who ran for president and dropped out with a record-setting 0% in the polls, has been compromised and is a national security threat to the United States — he should be removed from the committee immediately!"
Gaetz also is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, the New York Post reported.
At Trump's Doral golf club in Miami, Gaetz spoke on Friday, saying “I’m built for the battle and I’m not going anywhere. The smears against me range from distortions of my personal life to wild — and I mean wild — conspiracy theories.”
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.