We first heard about "Big Joe" in late March, when @ktbenner broke the story on the DOJ investigating Gaetz.
We immediately started reaching out. Surely, Gaetz's wingman's bestie knows something right?
Multiple sources confirmed that yes, "Big Joe" tagged along with Gaetz's buddy for years. They cohosted a radio show, partied together, and even worked together.
We've spoken to maybe a dozen people who knew them personally.
But how far did this go?
Since-deleted social media posts showed how close they were, but we needed more detail.
Through extensive work, we obtained their private Signal messages. That's how we got this.
Several tax agency employees kept telling us that Joel Greenberg gave his former radio co-host "Big Joe" a cushy govt job -- that he then used to swindle taxpayers.
So, we asked for public records. Lots of them.
Luckily, this is in Florida, which gives the public great access!
We got financial audit record that showed how he abused taxpayer/funded credit cards.
We got internal agency docs that claimed "Big Joe" used his govt AMEX to buy a bunch of knives for his gun shop.
Hey look, here's a pic of his store counter on Google Maps!
We heard "Big Joe" used his govt-issue Chevy Silverado for personal trips on weekends to his store.
Was it his? We got a copy of the title with the VIN. We got sales records with the license plate.
Was it at his store? We got a picture with an embedded date & GPS coordinates.
We heard he drove much more than allowed between nearby offices. How can we prove that?
We got a carbon copy of the title that showed how many miles it had at the start in Sept 2017.
When "Big Joe" was done with it and he was let go, the truck was sold. We asked the county to give us the odometer reading at sale.
Man, that's a lot of driving for less than three years.
Taxpayers shelled out $40k because "Big Joe" allegedly sexually harassed his coworker. We got the settlement agreement & other docs.
Now this part kills me. When the young woman reported it, management cornered her & said it was her fault. We have multiple witnesses in the room.
Folks, if you're gonna break laws and abuse power or privilege, we're going to expose you.
And for everyone else: If you know something, say something... to a journalist.
DM. Text. Call. Send me tips & I'll do the rest.
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It's the 21st day of trial during the 22nd week of the year.
Manhattan's roads are brilliant as the sunlight pierces the city's east-west streets at a perfect angle.
Donald Trump is back in court on the day jurors could begin to decide his fate.
I'm here for @thedailybeast.
@thedailybeast After taking a full week off for the Memorial Day holiday, the trial is back on.
Defense lawyers and prosecutors will take turns delivering their last messages to jurors.
@thedailybeast DA Alvin Bragg walks in and takes a seat on the right side of the courtroom behind his prosecutors.
Donald Trump struts in a minute later, flanked by a dozen of his advisers and supporters. This time the entourage includes one of his daughters, Tiffany Trump.
Day 20 of Donald Trump's trial. We're in the final stretch.
Prosecutors will cross-examine Robert Costello, aka "Backchannel Bob," the MAGA lawyer who tried to establish a covert comms line running from Michael Cohen to the Trump White House.
I'm in court for @thedailybeast:
@thedailybeast Last time on The Trump Trials...
The judge briefly ejected all journalists from his courtroom on Monday to reprimand Costello for challenging his authority.
The transcript, released that night, revealed what happened.
@thedailybeast Also, Michael Cohen admitted to stealing $30k from his former employer—lining his pockets as a reward to himself for fronting $20k the previous year to a tech company.
The longer tale, told later in his testimony, involved Trump rigging a CNBC poll.
It's the 19th day of trial on the 20th day of May.
The DA will rest its case. Now it's Donald Trump's turn.
For all his bluster outside the court, will he remain silent within it?
The kitten fancies himself a lion. We'll see if he roars.
I'm here for @thedailybeast.
His loyal followers are already showing up. Former congressman Trey Gowdy just stepped into the line with journalists outside the courthouse.
Over the weekend, @thedailybeast published my profile of a Manhattan DA paralegal whose testy demeanor from the witness stand treated this trial for what it is:
a long overdue process the nation needs to slog through to figure out what’s next.
@thedailybeast We also heard that "locker room talk" was Melania's idea. This has "big if true" energy. But if it's legit, then she might not be the idle onlooker she's made out to be.