Politics

Matt Gaetz Lawyers Up With Two Prominent Criminal Defense Attorneys

(Photo by GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Bradley Devlin General Assignment & Analysis Reporter
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Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has retained attorneys Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirshner to lead his legal team, the Associated Press (AP) reported Friday.

Gaetz is currently the subject of a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation looking into accusations that Gaetz was sex trafficking underage girls. Mukasey, a former federal prosecutor in New York, has several connections to former President Donald Trump’s circle. Mukasey formerly worked at the same law firm as Rudy Giuliani, and represented Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher in a case that caught Trump’s attention, the Associated Press (AP) reported. His father, Michael Mukasey, served as former President George W. Bush’s attorney general.

Kirshner formerly represented New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the AP reported. Schneiderman resigned his post after accusations of physically assaulting women. However, Schneiderman was not charged with any crimes after an investigation by a special prosecutor.

A spokesperson for Gaetz announced the additions of Mukasey and Kirshner in a statement Friday, the AP reported. “Matt has always been a fighter. A fighter for his constituents, a fighter for the country, and a fighter for the Constitution. He’s going to fight back against the unfounded allegations against him,” the statement read. Mukasey and Kirshner “will take the fight to those trying to smear his name with falsehoods.”

Gaetz has denied the allegations and has not been charged by the DOJ with any crimes as of yet. However, a former Gaetz associate, Joel Greenberg, is working on a plea deal for similar accusations, the AP reported. (RELATED: Rep. Matt Gaetz Says He Is Subject Of Sex Investigation, But Claims He’s The Target Of An ‘Extortion’ Plot)