'Gaetz is the biggest fish': NYT reporter explains why scandal-plagued GOP lawmaker looks doomed

Scandal-plagued Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) received more bad news on Thursday as attorneys representing his longtime associate Joel Greenberg told a federal judge in Florida that they expect to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Friday, New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt said that Greenberg's decision to seek a plea deal was very, very bad news for Gaetz, as it suggests that Greenberg will be giving the government damaging information about the Florida congressman.

"Joel Greenberg faces an enormous amount of time in prison for a range of charges, including sex trafficking, that he has been indicted on," Schmidt explained. "And the only way that he can bring that number down is to provide cooperation to the government, to help their investigation, to help them lead to other prosecutions. And obviously, Gaetz is the biggest fish that we know of, certainly, in this investigation."

He said that prosecutors are seeking Greenberg's cooperation because they don't want to bring a case against a sitting congressman unless they feel they have iron-clad proof of his guilt.

"But if, the end, the government were to charge Gaetz and lose that case, that is what the public will remember," he said. "So the government wants to have as many witnesses as possible as it moves forward here."

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