Second senior Matt Gaetz aide resigns amid federal investigation

Context: Gaetz, who has not been charged with any crimes, has repeatedly denied allegations of being sexually involved with a 17-year-old girl and claims that he shared naked images of women with other Congress members.

• Gaetz doubled down on his denials on Friday evening, saying he's not "going anywhere," and vowing, "I have not yet begun to fight."
• Gaetz's communications director Luke Ball resigned in early April.

What they're saying: As of Saturday afternoon, Murphy's automated email response says: "I am no longer with the office of Congressman Matt Gaetz. Womp womp. Cue the sad trombone."

• Murphy directed requests to Isabela Belchior, who was named as legislative counsel for Gaetz in February. She previously assisted Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) in the 2020 impeachment trial of former President Trump.
• Murphy told associates he was interested in working on legislation, not working at TMZ, the New York Times reported earlier this week.
• Murphy left not because of the representative's legal troubles but over media coverage of the investigation, per CNN.

The big picture: The House Ethics Committee announced Friday it had launched a probe into Gaetz.

• Gaetz said the Justice Department launched an investigation after charging one of his associates, Joel Greenberg, with federal sex trafficking and other crimes.
• A lawyer for Greenberg indicated last week that he is in plea negotiations with federal prosecutors over his sex trafficking of a minor.
• A plea deal may indicate that Greenberg is open to cooperating with investigators by providing information, though it's unknown how deep the negotiations are.

Go deeper: Gaetz to speak at pro-Trump women's conference amid sex trafficking probe