Teacher Framed by Joel Greenberg in Scheme That Triggered Matt Gaetz Investigation Speaks

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Brian Beute had been a teacher for almost two and half decades when he got the idea in his head to run for local office. A week after Beute filed his paperwork to run for tax collector of Seminole County, Florida, the school where he’d worked for 17 years received an anonymous letter falsely accusing him of an improper relationship with a student. Soon, sock-puppet accounts appeared online parroting the same lie. Beute went on administrative leave, and two weeks later, an investigation by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department cleared his name.

Beute went back to work, and kept campaigning. It would take almost eight months before local police, and later federal investigators, would unravel the scheme and ultimately arrest the man responsible for spreading those lies: Joel Greenberg, the Seminole County tax collector Beute sought to unseat. In addition to attempting to smear Beute as a pervert and a racist, Greenberg was later accused of a host of other crimes — 33 in total — including using drivers licenses confiscated by his office, embezzling and diverting nearly half a million taxpayer dollars to purchase cryptocurrency and sports memorabilia, and defrauding a Covid relief program. It was many months before Beute realized the investigation that started with Greenberg’s false accusations against him would ultimately threaten to take down a sitting congressman and one of former President Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.

On Monday, Joel Greenberg pled guilty to six charges, including sex trafficking of a minor, aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, stalking, and conspiracy. Greenberg, who faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years, has signaled through his lawyer that he is now cooperating with government prosecutors to bring charges against Gaetz, who is now reportedly under investigation for his relationship with the same 17-year-old Greenberg pled guilty to sex trafficking. Gaetz maintains his innocence.

Beute spoke about the ordeal for the first time at a press conference on Monday, during which he thanked his wife and two daughters, “three incredibly strong women,” who, he said, “also endured the trauma of these dreadfully false accusations. They never once doubted my innocence and integrity and they too are relieved that today is the beginning of our family’s freedom.”

-more-

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/teacher-framed-by-joel-greenberg-in-scheme-that-triggered-matt-gaetz-investigation-speaks/ar-AAKf0oV

[Dave in VA]

1. Rule #1 of GQP politics:

Accuse your opponent of everything that you are guilty of before your crimes are discovered.

[keithbvadu2]

7. Projection

[dchill]

9. Offensive pre-projection.

[LiberalLovinLug]

13. Yup. We always are one step behind them. They've already moved on to the next level

I could see it back when Trump was setting up what he thought was an election loss in 2016. He was using offensive pre-projection to set up the talking points for after. That it was rigged. And if he'd lost, we would have seen something almost similar to Jan. 6. Although with Democrats in charge, it wouldn't have escalated so violently I'm sure.

But he would have held his rallies if he'd won or not. His message would have been similar to what he is preaching now. He was robbed!

They employ this tactic to deflect but also because it takes a bit of the credibility away from any future accusations levelled against them which are of the similar nature. For instance....how can we complain about unfair elections, just after Nov. '16 when we went out of our way to dismiss Trump's allegations of unfair election results? Or...how can the pizza parlour pedos complain about Republican minor sexual abuse?

[BobTheSubgenius]

19. Not only would the Democrats be in charge, but he wouldn't have had time...

...to cement his position as Grifter God and be as adored. A candidate losing is nowhere near as impactful as a President being unseated.

[TheRickles]

14. Correct, because technically speaking, projection is an unconscious defense mechanism,

designed by the ego to protect itself from experiencing anxiety. However, with the R's, these are conscious, intentional and strategic behaviors. Still dangerous, and predictable, nevertheless.

[soldierant]

18. They are when perprtrated by candidates and strategists.

However, I dobelieve that in the base they trigger theinvoluntary kind - "I'd like to do that, so everyone must want to do that, so he must be guilty." Not, of course, put into words - that would be way too uncomfortable.

[Hekate]

2. Beute is a brave man. Greenberg is slime to the bone. nt

[C_U_L8R]

3. Greenberg... your typical Republican

[Phoenix61]

4. OMG!!! Gaetz is toast! nt

[jaxexpat]

17. That remains to be seen. But his trial may become another Ft. Sumter 101 moment.

The GQP will have their wagons in a circle and all hands on deck to moderate Gaetz's misfortune. Their primary goal is preventing it touching the Trump. Exploding the court, figuratively and/or literally, is easily on the menu.

Projecting may turn out to be the least of it. One thing to count on is that the American people will suffer even greater tribal trauma. Because that's what these characters sell. They have no understanding of what they're doing, have already done or how it will turn out.

[Hortensis]

5. Horrible as it was, thank goodness for the protection of his wife and daughters'

belief in him that kept Greenberg from destroying them and their family. Greenberg had also been smearing this teacher as a white supremacist.

I'd been wondering how he was doing.

[johnthewoodworker]

6. Joel Greenberg, like all Republican/Nazis, is unethical, dangerous and lurking.

[Champp]

8. The republiQon WAR on DECENCY and HONESTY

is vomitous

[BradBo]

10. Greenberg is so bad. Just like a bunch of other republicans. Horrible people.

[calimary]

20. Welcome to DU, BradBo!

I often refer to them as "the bad guys." Because that's what they ARE.

[FakeNoose]

11. What a nightmare for this good man and his family

Thank goodness he had the chance to clear his name. Joel Greenberg is toast, and soon to be followed by his sleazy buddy Matt Gaetz. Lock them up!

[TeamProg]

12. Can't Beute SUE THE F*** out of Greenberg?

I would do it even if my lawyer got 95% of the settlement.

[SunSeeker]

15. At this point it appears Greenberg is pretty judgment proof, he'll be broke after paying his lawyer.

Lawyers don't like to take cases where they can't get a pot of money. They would charge Beute for their time, which can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Beute basically already has Greenberg's defamation established via the investigation and charging documents, so not much gain would come of a defamation case.

[AZLD4Candidate]

16. In wrestling terms, we have defined what a "heel" is.