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- Rep. Matt Gaetz showed lawmakers nude photos of women and boasted about his sexual exploits, CNN reported.
- "It was a point of pride" for Gaetz, one source told the outlet.
- CNN reported that there's no indication that the photos are connected to an ongoing DOJ sex-trafficking investigation into Gaetz.
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A new report from CNN alleges that Rep. Matt Gaetz showed lawmakers nude photos of women he said he had slept with. He showed off these photos both in private and on the House floor, according to CNN, and he also boasted about his sexual exploits.
Thursday's development comes as Gaetz is facing a firestorm amid the revelation that the Justice Department is investigating whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him, breaking federal sex-trafficking laws by doing so.
CNN said that there is no evidence the nude photos Gaetz showed to lawmakers are connected to the Justice Department's probe.
Earlier Thursday, CNN also reported that investigators are looking into whether Gaetz misused campaign funds to pay for his travel.
After The New York Times reported on the existence of the Justice Department's inquiry, Gaetz went on a Twitter and media blitz, alleging that the investigation into him was part of an elaborate plot to extort his family for $25 million. He called the allegations against him "horrible" and said that while he was "generous" with women he previously dated, he was "absolutely" confident none of them were underage.
The Florida congressman also claimed that he was being targeted because he's an "outspoken conservative."
He said the allegations were part of an "organized criminal extortion" of him, and that "the people pushing these lies are targets ... of the ongoing extortion investigation." He added that he and his family have been cooperating in an FBI investigation into the matter, and he provided emails to Politico on Wednesday that appear to back up his statements.
Gaetz accused David McGee, a former DOJ prosecutor who now works at the law firm Beggs & Lane, of spearheading the alleged extortion plot and said that his father, Don Gaetz, was first contacted about it on March 16.
It's unlikely that the sex-trafficking investigation was part of the alleged extortion plot, given that it was launched months before Gaetz said his father was contacted.
His claim that he's being targeted because he's an "outspoken conservative" also doesn't hold up, since the inquiry was opened under a Republican administration and while Bill Barr - a staunch Trump loyalist with strong conservative credentials - was attorney general. Barr and other senior Trump appointees were briefed on the probe when it was launched and greenlit it, The Times reported.
This story is breaking. Check back for updates.