Changes

Despite all of the above, Gaetz does have some liberal views on social issues. In 2015, while serving in the [[Florida]] state legislature, he sponsored a repeal on its ban on adoption by [[homosexual]]s,<ref>https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=720277.docx&DocumentType=Amendments&BillNumber=7013&Session=2015</ref>. In 2019, he defending Rep. [[Katie Hill]] (D-CA) before she resigned over a sex scandal.  Gaetz also defied [[conservative]]s by voting to increase [[visa]] caps for high-skilled (i.e., high-paid) workers (2019 roll call h437) and he voted against showing support for the [[ICE]] border agents (2018 roll call h337).<ref>http://politicsthatwork.com/voting-record/Matt-Gaetz-412690</ref> Although, these were relatively minor bills, and Gaetz has been largely a staunch conservative on immigration. However, some of those views have been reversed, an example would be voting against the radical Equality Act.

Despite all of the above, Gaetz does have some liberal views on social issues. In 2015, while serving in the [[Florida]] state legislature, he sponsored a repeal on its ban on adoption by [[homosexual]]s,<ref>https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=720277.docx&DocumentType=Amendments&BillNumber=7013&Session=2015</ref>. In 2019, he defending Rep. [[Katie Hill]] (D-CA) before she resigned over a sex scandal.  Gaetz also defied [[conservative]]s by voting to increase [[visa]] caps for high-skilled (i.e., high-paid) workers (2019 roll call h437) and he voted against showing support for the [[ICE]] border agents (2018 roll call h337).<ref>http://politicsthatwork.com/voting-record/Matt-Gaetz-412690</ref> Although, these were relatively minor bills, and Gaetz has been largely a staunch conservative on immigration. However, some of those views have been reversed, an example would be voting against the radical Equality Act.

In 2021, he was accused of taking a seventeen-year-old girl across state lines for sex, which prompted an FBI investigation. Gaetz denies these claims and has stated that they are the product of an extortion scheme targeting him and his father, former Florida State Senate President Don Gaetz.[https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-extortion-investigation-explainer-timeline-2021-3] In the months prior to [[Donald Trump]]'s departure from office, Gaetz is alleged to have sought a pardon from the President, although both men have denied that such a request was ever made.[https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-defends-matt-gaetz-denies-florida-congressman-asked-pardon-1581697] Meanwhile, leaked texts indicate the possibility of Israeli government involvement in the alleged extortion scheme, which in turn was centered around efforts to raise money to get the now-deceased FBI agent Robert Levinson released from Iranian custody. All parties involved in the alleged scheme have denied that whatever they requested or demanded amounted to extortion; and the Israeli consulate employee involved in the scheme has claimed that he didn't know about the allegations against Gaetz until shortly before they were made public, in the process implying that he may not have been "kept entirely in the loop" about the situation.[https://www.theamericanconservative.com/state-of-the-union/leaked-texts-from-israeli-consular-official-show-more-details-in-gaetz-levinson-funding-scheme/]  

In 2021, he was accused of taking a seventeen-year-old girl across state lines for sex, which prompted an FBI investigation. Gaetz denies these claims and has stated that they are the product of an extortion scheme targeting him and his father, former Florida State Senate President Don Gaetz.[https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking-extortion-investigation-explainer-timeline-2021-3] In the months prior to [[Donald Trump]]'s departure from office, Gaetz is alleged to have sought a pardon from the President, although both men have denied that such a request was ever made.[https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-defends-matt-gaetz-denies-florida-congressman-asked-pardon-1581697] Meanwhile, leaked texts indicate the possibility of Israeli Embassy involvement in the alleged extortion scheme, which in turn was centered around efforts to raise money to get the now-deceased FBI agent Robert Levinson released from Iranian custody. All parties involved in the alleged scheme have denied that whatever they requested or demanded amounted to extortion; and the Israeli consulate employee involved in the scheme has claimed that he didn't know about the allegations against Gaetz until shortly before they were made public, in the process implying that he may not have been "kept entirely in the loop" about the situation.[https://www.theamericanconservative.com/state-of-the-union/leaked-texts-from-israeli-consular-official-show-more-details-in-gaetz-levinson-funding-scheme/]  

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==References==