The first public filing to cite sworn testimony against the congressman…
Rep. Matt Gaetz is once again at the center of controversy, as legal documents filed late Thursday in a Florida federal court allege that he attended a drug-fueled sex party in 2017 with a 17-year-old girl at the center of an alleged sex trafficking scandal.
Gaetz, 42, was 35 at the time of the supposed incident.
Court documents cite sealed affidavits from three eyewitnesses. According to the filings, the victim, who was a minor at the time, arrived at the party on July 15, 2017, in her mother's car. The party was hosted by Gaetz's then-friend, lobbyist Chris Dorworth.
Dorworth, who was, until recently, involved in a civil lawsuit against Gaetz, claims he has been unfairly tarnished due to his past relationship with the congressman. These new allegations could further intensify the scrutiny surrounding Gaetz, who has faced multiple sexual misconduct claims.
The latest legal developments involving Rep. Matt Gaetz were first reported by Jose Pagliery at NOTUS:
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.
“The discovery taken in this case to date reflects that on Saturday, July 15, 2017 … Dorworth, hosted a party at his residence … with the following guests present: (1) A.B.; (2) K.M.; (3) B.G.; (4) Matt Gaetz,” lawyers wrote in the filing, also listing several others. The defense lawyers filed testimonies from those three women — who the attorneys say placed Gaetz at Dorworth's house that night — under seal pending a judge's approval to make the records public.
Additionally, Gaetz's own ex-girlfriend — who was present at the party — provided testimony that lawyers say rebuts Dorworth's claims that he was not there. NOTUS independently verified that Gaetz and one of the women who testified were previously involved in a relationship; she is only identified in the court filing by her initials, B.G.
The congressman's ex-girlfriend's eleventh hour testimony on Sept. 3 came just two days before Dorworth dropped his lawsuit, defense attorneys said in the filing. The defense lawyers also relied on Dorworth's geolocated cell phone records, which showed that he communicated constantly with the congressman that day. The defense's court filings show a hired digital forensic examiner identified Gaetz's number, which has a Florida panhandle 850 area code and texted back and forth 30 times that day and then called Dorworth twice in the hours before the evening revelry. “B.G., another attendee at that party, confirmed A.B.'s testimony under penalty of perjury,” defense lawyers wrote.
This marks the first public filing to cite sworn testimony alleging that Gaetz attended one of the long-rumored drug-fueled parties with a teenage girl.
Gaetz adamantly denies any wrongdoing.
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