Back in June, Republican congressman Matt Gaetz received some unfortunate news when the GOP-controlled ethics committee said—in a press release!—that it was still investigating the Florida lawmaker, who was the subject of a 2021 Justice Department probe into whether he’d had sex with a minor and transported her across state lines. The committee was specifically looking into allegations that he had “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.” And this week the bad news continued on that front!
On Friday, NOTUS reported that court documents filed the day prior cited affidavits from three eyewitnesses who said the congressman had attended a drug-heavy sex party in 2017 with “the 17-year-old girl at the center of the alleged sex trafficking scandal.”
The minor, who was a junior in high school at the time, arrived in her mother’s car for a July 15, 2017, party at the Florida home of Chris Dorworth, a lobbyist and friend of Gaetz’s, according to a court filing written by defense attorneys who interviewed witnesses as part of an ongoing civil lawsuit Dorworth brought in 2023…. One eyewitness cited in the court filings, a young woman referred to as K.M., provided a sworn affidavit that claimed the teenage girl was naked, partygoers were there to “engage in sexual activities,” and “alcohol, cocaine, ecstasy…and marijuana” were present. The teenage girl was identified in the filings only as A.B.
Dorworth told NOTUS in a text message that he “never met” the 17-year-old, “not once in my life.” He also claimed, “She is…lying about Matt Gaetz.”
The House ethics probe into Gaetz initially began under former Speaker Nancy Pelosi; it was later paused due to the Justice Department investigation. (The congressman has repeatedly denied all allegations of wrongdoing.) In February 2023, prosecutors announced the decision not to charge the Florida lawmaker, and the House reopened its probe shortly thereafter. Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that former Gaetz ally Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to charges including sex trafficking, was cooperating with the ethics committee’s investigation. Vanity Fair has reached out to Gaetz’s office for comment. The congressman does not appear to have remarked on the most recent revelations.
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