Rep Matt Gaetz's future sister-in-law calls him 'weird and creepy', claims he tried to pressure her to date an older man when she was 19 and says she 'unfortunately was not surprised' when it emerged he was being investigated for sex crimes
The sister of Matt Gaetz's fiancée has described the Florida congressman as 'weird and creepy' and said she was 'unfortunately not surprised' at his being investigated for sex crimes.
Roxanne Luckey, 20, posted a string of TikTok videos criticizing him Sunday and Monday.
Her sister Ginger, a 26-year-old food analyst, got engaged to Gaetz this New Year's Eve at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort after eight months of dating.
Roxanne said that she spent the summer of 2020 in Washington DC working as a White House intern, and was uncomfortable with Gaetz, 39, from the start.
'As someone who has personally experienced a ton of creepy old politician men hitting on me when I was underage, and experiencing sexual assault at that age by people of power, it's very disheartening,' she said.
'And I have zero tolerance of people like him.'
Matt Gaetz, 39, is engaged to Ginger Luckey, 26. Ginger's sister Roxanne on Sunday and Monday posted a series of TikTok videos attacking the Florida congressman
Roxanne titled her videos: 'Story time' and said she was speaking out to 'hold him accountable'
She added that she is 'tired of them getting away with this type of stuff.'
Roxanne, who according to her LinkedIn profile is a sales associate at a Rip Curl store in Huntington Beach, California, began her story on Sunday.
She posted a TikTok clip showing her dancing and lip-synching to Lana Del Ray's Jealous Girl.
'Baby I'm a gangster too, and it takes two to tango,' Del Ray sings.
Behind Roxanne was a New York Times headline reading 'Matt Gaetz Is Said to Face Justice Dept. Inquiry Over Sex With an Underage Girl.'
She added her own text, writing, 'When a creepy old man tries to hit on you at the bar but your sisters engaged to a literal pedophile.'
Roxanne's first video saw her dancing and lip synching to a Lana Del Ray song
On Monday, Roxanne returned to TikTok.
'While that other video was just a humorous little thing, there is so much more,' she said.
'I just wanted to come on here and clarify some things because it is definitely a serious situation.
'I now realize I used the incorrect terminology. It's not "pedophilia", it should be "ephebophilia", which is someone attracted to post-pubescent girls in the age range of 15 to 19.'
She claimed that, last summer, Gaetz was encouraging a friend of his - 'around Matt's age, had a kid, had been divorced' - to ask her out on a date.
She said: 'I just made jokes like, ha ha, I'm 19, that's weird.'
She said he told her 'when you break up with your boyfriend, let me know so you can have a real man.'
Gaetz and Ginger Luckey are pictured in Doral, Florida in April - shortly after it emerged that he was being investigated for sex trafficking
Gaetz and Ginger Luckey at a Donald Trump rally in Orlando on October 12
Roxanne said that she found it 'creepy' and inappropriate and so, at Thanksgiving, she asked Gaetz why he tried to set his much-older friend up with her.
'He immediately got so defensive, started yelling at me and my Mom.
'He called me a narcissist, and was just 1,000 per cent gaslighting me.
'He went full lawyer on me, was like: 'I don't have to listen to you. I don't have to answer your questions.'
'As far as I am concerned, someone who is innocent shouldn't be getting so defensive. Literally, a grown man yelling at a 20 year old girl. It's beyond me.'
She said she 'saw his character and the type of person he is'.
Roxanne Luckey said that she was unsurprised when it emerged that he was being investigated
When the headlines came out about his investigation for sex crimes, she said it was not a shock to her.
On March 30, when the news broke, Roxanne tweeted: 'Family gatherings with my future brother in law r about to get a lot more interesting.'
She said, while she was in DC, she heard 'through the grapevine' that Gaetz was known for 'prowling after college girls when he's a grown man - and to me that's just kind of weird.'
She said she hoped Gaetz was 'held accountable'.
Ginger Luckey hit back at her sister, telling The Daily Beast she had a history of 'destructive behavior'.
She said they were estranged, although social media photos showed them close as recently as November.
'Matt and I are enjoying our engagement and are deeply in love,' said Ginger.
'My estranged sister is mentally unwell.
'She has been in therapy for years and our family hopes that after receiving in-patient mental health treatment, she will overcome the tendency she has repeatedly shown to engage in destructive behavior.'
Gaetz has not responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
Gaetz has been implicated in the scandal surrounding his friend and 'wing man' Joel Greenberg.
Matt Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg, seen above with Roger Stone (left) and Gaetz (center), pleaded guilty in May to multiple charges and is cooperating with prosecutors
Greenberg pleaded guilty in May to sex trafficking of a minor and five other charges, among the nearly three dozen he faced. His plea agreement with prosecutors requires continued cooperation with the ongoing probe.
The 36-year-old former Seminole County tax collector currently faces an estimated 12 years in prison, his lawyer said. Greenberg also pleaded guilty to identity theft, wire fraud and conspiracy.
Gaetz, a Republican who represents much of the Florida Panhandle, was not mentioned in Greenberg's plea agreement.
But Greenberg's cooperation could play a role in an ongoing investigation into Gaetz's supposed pay-for-sex relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
While not mentioning Gaetz by name, in his plea deal Greenberg said he 'introduced the minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts.'
Gaetz, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and has said repeatedly he will not resign from Congress. No charges have been brought against Gaetz.
Greenberg has been linked to a number of other Florida politicians and their associates. So far, none of them have been implicated by name in the sex trafficking probe.
The Greenberg plea agreement says that he admitted being 'involved in what are sometimes referred to as 'sugar daddy' relationships where he paid women for sex, but attempted to disguise the payments as 'school-related' expenses or other living expenses.'
Greenberg's sentencing was delayed earlier this month until November 18, so he can keep cooperating in a broader sex trafficking investigation.
Gaetz's his latest campaign finance report, published in the middle of July, showed the financial toll of the scandal.
His campaign spent thousands of dollars on lawyers, publicists and consultants as he deals with the fallout from his sex scandal - including $25,000 on defense attorney Marc Fernich, whose past clients include Jeffrey Epstein, convicted drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, and the recently convicted head of the NXIVM sex cult, Keith Raniere.
Gaetz's campaign paid $25,000 to defense attorney Marc Fernich, left, whose past clients include the late Jeffrey Epstein, right, convicted drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman and the recently convicted head of the NXIVM sex cult, Keith Raniere
Gaetz also spent over $825,000 on the public affairs firm Logan Circle Group, which has handled his media strategy since The New York Times reported he was under federal investigation as to whether he paid an underage girl for sex.
Finally there was a payment of $20,000 in four installments to Roger Stone for 'strategic consulting.'
Stone, a longtime Trump ally who was pardoned by the former president, is a Florida resident and was convicted of lying to Congress.
Gaetz is spending more than he raised.
He brought in $1.44million in the second fundraising quarter but burned through $1.95 million between April 1 and June 30.
'Our FEC filings speak for themselves,' a Gaetz spokesperson told CNBC.
'Despite an endless stream of lies from the media, Congressman Gaetz continues to be among the most prodigious fundraisers in Congress and is the only Republican who doesn't accept donations from federal lobbyists or PACs. He thanks his tens of thousands of donors and promises to always fight for them.'
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