I don’t know what the definition of the crime being investigated, but it isn’t blackmail. The persons weren’t offering silence for money, it seems to be more along the lines of extortion, a quid pro quo.
Agree, but either way.... it neither changes the underlying crime, nor does it mean that the DOJ is 'taking the word of a blackmailer'. It appears that Gaetz and his slimeball buddies plucked these girls off a pay to play website, put them up in a hotel room, paid them cash, and then drugged them with ecstacy and had sex with them. Sounds like a great weekend in Vegas. But I'm pretty sure that it's illegal regardless of the age. Gaetz is in all kinds of deep shit.