Days after a billboard went up in Pensacola targeting Northwest Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz over a 2008 DUI arrest, the freshman congressman is firing back.
Gaetz’s office issued the following statement:
“It is no surprise that an anti-Trump, Maryland-based PAC run by a former Clinton White House staffer is attacking Northwest Florida’s conservative congressman,” Gaetz’s office said. “Rep. Matt Gaetz has been a leading voice exposing Clinton corruption as a member of the House Judiciary Committee.”
The billboard is funded by Maryland-based Mad Dog PAC, founded by Claude Taylor, a former Clinton White House staffer and photographer who has some 203,000 followers on Twitter. Taylor said that the Gaetz billboard is the first in a campaign which will target at least a half dozen congressional Republicans who support President Donald Trump’s agenda.
A Maryland-based PAC has unveiled a billboard in Pensacola targeting Rep. Matt Gaetz. (Derek Cosson/The Pulse)
“Nearly a decade ago, while in his twenties, Rep. Gaetz was arrested for DUI,” the statement continued. “This arrest and subsequent dismissal for lack of probable cause have been heavily chronicled by the local media and Gaetz’s unsuccessful political opponents. Rep. Gaetz has never been arrested previously or subsequently for any reason.”
The billboard is located on West Navy Boulevard near Cahn Street just west of downtown Pensacola. “Rep. Matt Gaetz,” the billboard reads. “How many DUIs have you had? The voters deserve to know.”
“This is a smear campaign intended to hinder Congressman Gaetz’s important work in Washington. It won’t work. Matt Gaetz won’t back down or hide from bullies — especially those working for the Clintons.”