Republican Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz was told by his associate, Joel Greenberg, that the girl they had both slept with was underage, nullifying any claim Gaetz could make to claim that he didn’t know the girl was a minor, two people with knowledge of a first-hand witness of the call told The Daily Beast.

“Big Joe” Ellicott, a local radio personality who pleaded guilty earlier Wednesday to various offenses including tax fraud, is cooperating with investigators probing Gaetz.  He told two people that he was in the room with Greenberg when Greenberg called him to tell him one of the girls they had paid to have sex with was under 18 years old.

Ellicott has not been charged in relation to child sex trafficking or any other prostitution-related charges, and Greenberg has already pleaded guilty to one count relating to sex trafficking, among other things, in a plea agreement with authorities.  Gaetz is reportedly under investigation.

In a letter he wrote in a quest for a presidential pardon during the Trump administration, Greenberg detailed how he learned the girl’s age through an anonymous call in September 2017.  He illegally used an official Florida driver’s license database to confirm the girl’s real age, and he called Gaetz to tell him to stay away from the girl in the future.  Gaetz, Greenberg claims, was shocked to learn the news.

Greenberg made a point of noting that he and Gaetz would have no more contact with the girl until after her 18th birthday.  Greenberg is 37 years old; Gaetz is 39.

Thanks to FranklinSezChillax for the tip.