bad optics

If Matt Gaetz wants people to forget about his teen sex scandal then he should really stop doing this

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Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida has been doing anything and everything he can think of to distract people from that whole underage teen sex trafficking case he’s currently wrapped up in.

Whether it’s touring retirement communities with Marjorie Taylor Greene, throwing hissy fits over the military acknowledging systemic racism is real, suggesting the FBI was in on the January 6 insurrection, or accusing the National Security Agency of spying on Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, he’s willing to do just about anything to try and make people forget that, oh yeah, he’s being investigated for allegedly paying a high school student to join him in the Bahamas for sex.

But his latest strategy is probably his worst and most ill-advised yet, as it involves a former teen pop idol who is perhaps best known for that time she dressed up like an oversexed school girl in a music video. We’re talking about none other than Britney Jean Spears.

Gaetz, along with three other House Republicans, invited the singer to come to Washington, D.C. and testify before Congress about her conservatorship battle with her father.

The antigay lawmaker shared his letter to Spears on Twitter yesterday.

“The United States Congress should hear your story and be inspired to bipartisan action. What happened to you should never happen to any other American,” it read, along with a promise to “stand with” Spears no matter what she decides.

He also went on One America News network to extend the invitation.

“The #FreeBritney movement is growing in the United States Congress,” he said, adding, “We are making a direct appeal to Britney Spears to come to the United States Congress and to share her perspective on conservatorship and guardianship abuse.”

Seriously, Matt, LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! She’s dealt with enough sleazy men in her life trying to use her for their own nefarious purposes.

Here’s what folx on Twitter are saying about Gaetz’s obvious attempt at using Spears to draw attention away from his own scandal…

So what’s going on with Gaetz’s underage teen sex trafficking case anyway? Well, the last we heard, the Department of Justice was still trying to what charges it might file against him and that a decision was imminent.

ABC News reported in June:

Sources told ABC News that prosecutors believe a decision about whether or not to bring charges against Gaetz could come as early as July.

Sources said the probe into the congressman has ramped up in recent weeks. Investigators have started interviewing more women who were allegedly introduced to Gaetz through Greenberg, who last month pleaded guilty to sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl — who later went on to work in pornography — and introducing her to other “adult men.”

Since May, a new round of target letters and subpoenas in the wide-ranging investigation have been sent out, ABC News has learned.

Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and claims the investigation is politically motivated and that he is the victim of some sort of elaborate multi-million dollar extortion scheme or something.

Graham Gremore is the Features Editor and a Staff Writer at Queerty. Follow him on Twitter @grahamgremore.

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