Gaetz denial

US Representative Matt Gaetz said he will not leave Congress and denied that he “slept with” an underage girl. The Florida Republican, starting his fifth year in Congress, has been battling to preserve his political career since reports last week that he is under federal investigation for possible sex crimes. In a column in the Washington Examiner, a conservative news outlet, Gaetz predicted that “some of my feckless colleagues in Congress” will call for him to step down. An aggressive and high-profile ally of Donald Trump, Gaetz has so far received almost no public support from his congressional Republican colleagues and none from the former president. Gaetz, 38, is under scrutiny over whether he violated federal sex trafficking laws, including if he had sex with a 17-yearold and other underage girls, paid them or offered gifts in exchange for sex. That’s according to people familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they could not discuss details publicly. Gaetz, who has not been charged with any crimes, denied the accusations.