FloridaRepublican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz is as soon as once more on the heart of a scandal following newly unsealed civil court docket paperwork that allege he attended a drug-fueled get together in 2017 involving a 17-year-old lady. In keeping with authorized filings, a number of eyewitnesses corroborated the small print, which positioned Gaetz on the get together hosted by his shut ally, lobbyist Chris Dorworth.
The court docket paperwork embody sealed affidavits from three girls who testified that Gaetz was current at a celebration the place unlawful medication, together with cocaine and ecstasy, had been used and that sexual actions came about involving an underage lady, NOTUSreviews. One of many witnesses, known as “Okay.M.,” described the get together as involving a gaggle of adults and the 17-year-old, recognized solely as “A.B.,” who was bare on the occasion. In keeping with NOTUS, one other witness, Gaetz’s former girlfriend, confirmed his attendance and geolocation knowledge additional substantiated the congressman’s presence that evening.
The brand new filings come within the wake of a 2021 confession letter written by Joel Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector and shut affiliate of Gaetz, which claimed that the 2 males had paid for intercourse with a number of girls, together with a minor. The letter,obtained byThe Each day Beast, detailed how Greenberg had facilitated the funds for Gaetz and described a number of Venmo and Money App transactions made to the underage lady, alongside different girls. Greenberg is at the moment serving an 11-year jail sentence after pleading responsible to prices together with intercourse trafficking.
Gaetz has not been charged with a criminal offense.
Federal prosecutors started investigating Gaetz in 2020 after Greenberg’s arrest however in the end selected to not press prices towards the congressman, citing issues over the credibility of witnesses.
Greenberg’s confession letter, written in late 2020 whereas searching for a presidential pardon from then-PresidentDonald Trump, gives damning particulars about Gaetz’s function. Within the letter, Greenberg admitted that he and Gaetz had each engaged in sexual actions with a minor, who was 17 on the time. Greenberg additionally detailed the monetary transactions used to pay the ladies, together with Venmo funds that Gaetz allegedly despatched to him to rearrange the encounters.
Within the messages, Greenberg admitted to arranging sexual encounters for Gaetz and referenced efforts to safe a pardon for each males within the remaining days of the Trump presidency.
The brand new revelations about Gaetz come simply days after the congressman defended Trump’s false assertions abouttransgender youth from the spin room after the presidential debate with Vice PresidentKamala Harris inPhiladelphia. In a post-debate interview with The Advocate on September 10, Gaetz backed Trump’s debunked declare that colleges are performing gender-affirming surgical procedures on kids—a baseless allegation that has been repeatedly dismissed by training and medical consultants.
Gaetz sidestepped the factual inaccuracies when questioned in regards to the falsehood, focusing as a substitute on what he described as “parental rights.” “In locations like California and Washington, if a mum or dad doesn’t have the precise gender-affirming strategy to their very own kids, they’re vulnerable to dropping parental rights,” Gaetz stated, echoing the far-right speaking factors he and Trump have embraced. No proof helps the notion that kids are receiving gender-affirming surgical procedures in colleges.
Gaetz is dealing with growing stress, each legally and politically. The Home Ethics Committee is at the moment investigating Gaetz for his alleged involvement in paying girls for intercourse. Whereas Gaetz has averted felony prices to this point, the Ethics Committee might censure and even expel him from Congress, relying on the findings.