Matt Gaetz maintains he is innocent amid sex trafficking probe: 'This was an operation to destroy me'

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Matt Gaetz: 'I have maintained my innocence'

Florida Republican congressman says he feels 'vindicated' amid ongoing probe on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'

Twelve months after Congressman Matt Gaetz defended his innocence on-air in what Tucker Carlson dubbed "one of the weirdest interviews" he's ever conducted, the Florida Republican returned to the show on Wednesday with an update on the New York Times report revealing he was the subject of a federal sex trafficking investigation involving an underaged girl.

The Times story, published last March, cited three anonymous sources "briefed on the matter," who alleged that Gaetz traveled across state lines with a 17-year-old girl for the purpose of sex. Gaetz said he doesn't expect to be charged for the crimes of which he is accused.

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"No, that would be a travesty," he told Carlson. "I’m innocent. I’ve maintained my innocence. I’ve been entirely consistent on this fact in each and every day the lies about me unravel and are debunked."

In his interview on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" last year, Gaetz pushed back strongly against the allegations, claiming that he was the victim of "extortion" by an ex-Justice Department official seeking a $25 million payoff. 

On Wednesday, Gaetz revealed that the unnamed "fraudster" has since been indicted and pleaded guilty to trying to "shakedown" the lawmaker's family.

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"The most important thing that has happened since our last on-air discussion, someone has been indicted and has pled guilty to trying to shake down my family based on this pile of lies," Gaetz said. "So I’m not going to allow it to hinder me. I’m going to continue the important work that I do here in the Congress for my constituents.

 "I feel vindicated each and every day that the facts are revealed," he went on, "but I don’t want this to be a distraction from the critically important work going on in Congress that my constituents expect me to dig in on."'

‘This was an operation to destroy me,’ Gaetz tells Tucker Carlson ((Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP, File))

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Gaetz said the New York Times story is the result of a "pipeline of leaks and lies that flow from the Justice Department to the mainstream media."

"This was an operation to destroy me," he said, "to harm my family, to hinder my ability to serve the district and the movement that I represent in Congress."

"Whatever you think of Matt Gaetz, whatever you’ve heard, it’s pretty simple. If a law enforcement agency and Justice Department accuse you of a crime, they have to prove it," host Tucker Carlson said. "They don’t just get to shut you up by smearing you...they have to take you to a court and show that you are guilty. If you aren’t really doing that, you aren’t a law enforcement agency, they are more like a secret police." 

Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.