Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida took time away from mocking the sex trafficking charges against him and rallying against Liz Cheney alongside Marjorie Taylor Greene to tell the world that he’s possibly been the target of a scam. Yes, that’s right. WFLA reports that Matt Gaetz and his brand new fiancée Ginger Luckey* say that they’ve been had. They’ve been bamboozled! They’ve been hoodwinked! CBS4 says the couple claims that money they wired for a boat sale “went missing.”

* Real name.

The newly engaged couple was seen inspecting a 41-foot yacht down in the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina a short while after their totally-not staged engagement was announced. According to WFLA, “the boat, named Ol Pappy at the time, was listed for $155,000.” At the time, you ask? Yes, because reportedly “Witnesses said Ol Pappy was erased and replaced by the name Thirsty in late April around the time the deal was supposed to close.” Did you just read that the name was changed, ostensibly by Gaetz and Luckey to “Thirsty?” Yes. Yes, you did. You did read that.

What happened? Gaetz and Luckey say they are being “targeted by malicious actors, first domestic and now foreign.” Brett Harris, the owner of the company that brokered the transaction, told reporters that the boat has sold to another buyer and that deal concluded a week ago. Who to believe: the guy who has yet to tell a true story in his life, or someone else? Oh, King Solomon, where are you when we need you? The statement about the incident from Gaetz and Luckey claims that law enforcement is actively investigating the dirty dealings going on. The FBI told news outlets that they could “neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation and we have no further comment.”

There is definitely one investigation we all know about regarding Rep. Gaetz. According to various reports, Gaetz is the focus of a sex trafficking and drug investigation. There is speculation that on top of these charges of moral bankruptcy, there are reports of dubious use of taxpayer and fundraised funds being used in the alleged illegal activities. Gaetz’s decision to propose to Luckey came shortly after it was clear that Mr. Florida’s best party buddy, disgraced Republican tax collector Joel Greenberg, was turning state’s evidence against him.

Since that time, Gaetz has searched out the fringiest of the fringe in a Republican Party that is both repulsed by and attracted to what he has to offer. The GOP is both repulsed and attracted because the moral bankruptcy, the lack of policy ideas, the rich-kid privilege, and mediocrity he represents is everything they are—and what they are is repulsive.

Republished with permission of Daily Kos.