Former President Trump issued a defensive statement late Monday denying CNN’s report that he recently rejected Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) request to meet with him at Mar-a-Lago amid the Florida congressman’s blossoming scandal.
“Fake News CNN, relying on all anonymous sources, meaning they probably made the whole thing up, wrote a very dishonest story claiming Congressman Matt Gaetz asked for a meeting with me at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, and was denied,” Trump said in a statement late Monday. “This is completely false.”
According to a Monday CNN report, Trump’s aides rejected Gaetz’s request to meet at Mar-a-Lago and warned the former president against going out of his way to speak out for the congressman, who publicly volunteered to sacrifice his congressional seat to defend Trump in his second impeachment trial.
Both Gaetz and Jason Miller, one of Trump’s top advisers dismissed CNN’s report as inaccurate.
This is a total lie.
I am on a pre-planned vacation with my fiancée. I was welcomed at Trump Doral days ago.
No such meeting was denied nor sought.
Gabby, “unnamed sources” lied.
When can we expect a retraction? https://t.co/6oaW7JlXUt
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) April 12, 2021
This @CNN story is complete fake news.
No such scheduling or meeting request was ever made, and therefore, it could never have been declined.
Take note that this story has zero on-the-record sources. It’s literally made-up.
We are demanding a full retraction. #FakeNews https://t.co/lhlChvilhF
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) April 12, 2021
Trump has remained largely tight-lipped regarding the federal investigation that Gaetz is reportedly facing into sex trafficking accusations involving a 17-year-old. Gaetz has repeatedly claimed that the allegations against him are part of an extortion plot by a former federal prosecutor.
Last week, the former president issued a brief statement denying that Gaetz asked him for a pardon, following the New York Times’ report that the congressman asked for a last-minute blanket pardon for unspecified crimes. Trump simply pointed out that Gaetz “has totally denied the accusations against him.”
