SANTA ROSA BEACH -- A former staff member for Northwest Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz says he's inclined to believe sexual assault allegations against his ex-boss are "fabrications", based on FBI agents' interview of him last week.
Nathan Nelson, former director of military affairs for Gaetz's office, says two FBI agents showed up at his home last Wednesday to ask him whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. Nelson says "members of the media" reached out to the FBI asserting that he had knowledge of illegal activities, and that he resigned because he knew of them.
Nelson told reporters Monday that wasn't true, and that neither he nor anyone on Gaetz' staff had any knowledge of unlawful actions.
"Everybody here in the defense community knows that I had planned" to leave to enter the private sector, Nelson said. "This baseless claim leaves me further convinced that the allegations against Gaetz are likewise fabricated, and merely an attempt to discredit a very vocal conservative," Nelson said.
The former staffer didn't offer any evidence to discredit the probe. "I'm not here to provide any evidence supporting Congressman Gaetz," Nelson said.
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