Newsweek suggests Matt Gaetz had affair with male staffer solely based on tweets from Dem rival he defeated

Newsweek ran a so-called "fact check" that elevated a salacious, unsubstantiated claim about Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., leveled by his Democratic rival he handily defeated in the November midterms.

On Thursday, the magazine ran the headline "Did Matt Gaetz Have an Affair With Male Staffer? What We Know," which offered zero substance to the allegation that stemmed from tweets by Rebekah Jones, who first drew national attention in 2020 when she accused the DeSantis administration of burying Florida's COVID stats, a claim that was later widely debunked. 

"!!!BREAKING!!! Matt Gaetz is believed to be having an affair with his press secretary, Joel Valdez, according to three independent sources," Jones tweeted Tuesday, adding "Gaetz' office and his wife have not responded to requests for comment. This is not Gaetz' first affair, nor is it his first w/a man."

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Jones went on to tell a Twitter user she "observed their, er, intimacy in a moment they thought was private after our debate" and when asked if she took a picture, she replied "I had two camera crews with me. Didn't need to" but has not released any footage she suggests she has. 

"Thrice fired, indicted, politically defeated, mentally unstable people shouldn't be considered sources by serious media. Mrs. Jones' statements referenced no sourcing or evidence in her defamatory posts," Gaetz's office told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"We hope Mrs. Jones reforms her life after paying restitution and completing the court-ordered community service following the last set of crimes she took responsibility for. There has never been a relationship, and the insinuation that Congressman Matt Gaetz has been starting relationships with staff is totally false and libelous," Gaetz's office added. 

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Newsweek did not respond to Fox News' request for comment. 

Critics slammed Newsweek for publishing its report, many of them telling the magazine on Twitter "delete your account."

While Newsweek's report mentioned Gaetz's denial at the top, buried in the article is Jones' checkered past.

Jones, a former state health official in Florida, became a media darling in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic over her explosive claim that she was pressured by the DeSantis administration to alter the state's data in order to push for reopenings.

But a devasting report from National Review's Charles C. W. Cooke outlined Jones' history of shady behavior and poked holes in her story, including the major revelation that she "did not have the ability to edit the raw data" in Florida's COVID database. A separate report from National Review also shed light on Jones' disturbing abusive behavior. 

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In May 2022, the Florida Office of Inspector General concluded Jones' claims about the DeSantis administration were "unsubstantiated" and "unfounded."

Additionally, Jones was arrested in January 2021 and charged with one count of illegally accessing state computers and was previously charged in 2019 for stalking an ex-boyfriend.

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In December 2022, Jones admitted guilt and agreed to pay $20,000 to reimburse investigation costs, perform 150 hours of community service and monthly visits to a mental health counselor in exchange for the charge being dropped within two years, according to the Associated Press. 

Gaetz trounced Jones in the November midterms, earning a whopping 68% of the vote in Florida's first district.