Joe Ellicott’s plea deal looks like the final piece to Matt Gaetz’s indictment
When Joel Greenberg cut a plea deal months ago against his Florida Republican associates including Matt Gaetz, it set off a chain reaction. Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend testified against Gaetz to a grand jury earlier this month in exchange for immunity. Now, Greenberg-Gaetz associate Joe Ellicott has pleaded guilty to multiple charges today – and according to the Daily Beast, he’s flipped on Gaetz.
For those wondering just how many cooperating witnesses the DOJ needs, this is precisely how you build a slam dunk case when you’re looking to criminally charge a high profile Congressman with heinous crimes, and when you’re trying to ensure a conviction at trial. Building a case this comprehensive takes longer than the public would like, but it works.
Absent any guidelines from prosecutors or media leaks, there’s still no way to predict precise timeframe for when Matt Gaetz will be indicted. When his ex-girlfriend testified to the grand jury, we said that there was no way to know whether she was the final witness to testify. Now, even with the news of Ellicott’s cooperation, we don’t know if he’s already testified to the grand jury or if prosecutors still have to get that out of the way.
Ellicott’s plea deal does feel like the final piece to the puzzle in the Matt Gaetz indictment. But it’s less important when Matt Gaetz will be indicted, and more important that he is going to be indicted. With three cooperating witnesses and counting, Gaetz – who still says he’s innocent – will have a very difficult time winning at trial and may ultimately have to consider cutting a plea deal of his own. He’d better hope he has the goods to flip on even bigger fish.
