FloridaRepublican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz is as soon as once more on the middle of a scandal following newly unsealed civil court docket paperwork that allege he attended a drug-fueled social gathering in 2017 involving a 17-year-old lady. In line with authorized filings, a number of eyewitnesses corroborated the small print, which positioned Gaetz on the social gathering hosted by his shut ally, lobbyist Chris Dorworth.
The court docket paperwork embrace sealed affidavits from three ladies who testified that Gaetz was current at a celebration the place unlawful medication, together with cocaine and ecstasy, have been used and that sexual actions befell involving an underage lady, NOTUSexperiences. One of many witnesses, known as “Ok.M.,” described the social gathering as involving a bunch of adults and the 17-year-old, recognized solely as “A.B.,” who was bare on the occasion. In line with NOTUS, one other witness, Gaetz’s former girlfriend, confirmed his attendance and geolocation knowledge additional substantiated the congressman’s presence that night time.
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 ladies, together with a minor. The letter,obtained byThe Every 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 ladies. Greenberg is presently serving an 11-year jail sentence after pleading responsible to fees together with intercourse trafficking.
Gaetz has not been charged with against the law.
Federal prosecutors started investigating Gaetz in 2020 after Greenberg’s arrest however finally selected to not press fees towards the congressman, citing issues over the credibility of witnesses.
Greenberg’s confession letter, written in late 2020 whereas looking for a presidential pardon from then-PresidentDonald Trump, offers 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 ultimate 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 specialists.
Gaetz sidestepped the factual inaccuracies when questioned concerning the falsehood, focusing as an alternative on what he described as “parental rights.” “In locations like California and Washington, if a mother or father doesn’t have the proper 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 going through growing strain, each legally and politically. The Home Ethics Committee is presently investigating Gaetz for his alleged involvement in paying ladies for intercourse. Whereas Gaetz has averted legal fees to date, the Ethics Committee may censure and even expel him from Congress, relying on the findings.
