Why Do Evangelical Leaders Like Franklin Graham Continue to Enable Donald Trump Peneguy
MSNBC's "Unfiltered" host Roland Martin blasted evangelical conservatives for their silence on the myriad sex scandals of Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida:
"Let's just go to church. Where are you at, Robert Jeffress? Where are you at, Ralph Reed? Where are you, Franklin Graham? Where are you, Paula White? Where are all you white evangelicals who love talking morality and principles and family and values? How are you saying nothing? Y'all running your mouth when Congressman John Conyers, the late Congressman, was accused of sexual harassment. You were running your mouth when Senator Al Franken was accused of the same thing? Now, all of a sudden, you're quiet when Matt was showing nude photos of women he allegedly slept with to other House members, where are you?"
Martin continued:
"See, this shows the hypocrisy of these white conservative evangelicals, and also the Black conservative evangelicals who stand with them."
Martin went on, blasting the hypocrisy he sees in these conservative Christian leaders:
"This shows how foul in faith they are … they said nothing, and Fox News hadn't said a word for three days until Mr. Brett Baier reported. Oh, but you had Matt Gaetz on 20 times in the month of March. This shows you how fake and how much of a joke they are when it comes to family values. You are not the party of the family values. You are not the party of the working class. You are silent and quiet, and that's why I will never again — they can't say anything about any future Democrat or anybody else because of their shameful behavior. They're fake Christians."
Gaetz is under fire for allegedly crossing state lines with a minor that he also engaged in sexual activity with, paying for sex, bragging about sexual conquests and showing nude pictures of them on the House floor, among other things.
Gaetz has vehemently denied the accusations, claiming that he and his family a being extorted, but has offered no evidence of such extortion. The DOJ began an investigation of Gaetz during the Trump administration, under Attorney General William Barr.
On Thursday, Rep. Adam Kinzinger called controversial Rep. Matt Gaetz to resign amid a growing scandal involving sexual misconduct with an underage girl and sex trafficking allegations.
Kinzinger used social media to call for Gaetz's resignation tweeting, "Matt Gaetz needs to resign." He linked an article by The Daily Beast about payments between the lawmaker and an indicted associate, Joel Greenberg.
Greenberg is reportedly under investigation by federal officials. He is a close ally of Gartz's and a former county tax collector in Florida. He is being investigated for several allegations including sex trafficking and paying women for sex. Gaetz is directly linked to that investigation. Officials are looking into if Gaetz had sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl and traveled with her on several occasions across state lines.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors stated that Greenberg is expected to plead guilty to some charges and will most likely cooperate with the federal investigation into Gaetz., which will no doubt complicate Gaetz's legal battles.
Gaetz continues to deny all allegations of impropriety and has said his personal life "is and always has been conducted on my own time and my own dime."
"Consensual adult relationships are not illegal," Gaetz said Monday, adding he would "absolutely" not resign.
Kinzinger has been a vocal critic of Gaetz's throughout Trump's presidency. He often broke with his own party to criticize him.
In February, Kinzinger stated that colleagues like Gaetz and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) "just want fame" adding he had a "huge list" of GOP lawmakers he'd like to see challenged in future elections.
Gaetz responded to Kinzinger's comments on Twitter simply replying with "Bring it!"Amid the mounting allegations, two of Gaetz's aides have abruptly resigned.
This isn't Gaetz's only issue as it was reported by the New York Times that he approached Donald Trump while he was still president and asked him to issue him a blanket preemptive pardon.
The Times quotes two individuals that are familiar with the discussion that Gaetz had with Trump. Gaetz asked to be given the pardon, however, the White House saw the requests as a nonstarter and Trump did not grant it.
Gaetz was a loyal ally to Trump throughout his presidency. He is currently being investigated by the Justice Department for an alleged sexual relationship with an underage girl.
It is believed that Gaetz may have violated sex trafficking and prostitution laws because he paid the girl to travel with him across state lines.
The investigation into Gaetz was opened while Trump was still president under then-Attorney General William Barr.
Gaetz denies having sexual relations with underage girls. A spokesperson for Gaetz also denies that he asked for a pardon.
"Entry-level political operatives have conflated a pardon call from Representative Gaetz — where he called for President Trump to pardon 'everyone from himself, to his administration, to Joe Exotic' — with these false and increasingly bizarre, partisan allegations against him," a spokesperson told the Times.
"Those comments have been on the record for some time, and President Trump even retweeted the congressman, who tweeted them out himself."
Gaetz will be making his first public appearance since the news of the investigation broke at a pro-Trump "Women for America First" gala on Friday in Florida.
Gaetz alleges that a former DOJ official is trying to extort his family out of $25 million and has accused the FBI of threatening his "friend."
Source: https://vozwire.com/evangelical-leaders-like-franklin-graham-get-put-on-notice-for-silence-on-matt-gaetz-scandal/
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