A Thursday court filing indicates that Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., attended a party with a 17-year-old high school junior who is at the center of an alleged sex trafficking scandal, NOTUS reported.
The documents, filed with a Florida federal court, cite affidavits based on three witnesses who placed the then 35-year-old congressman at the party where they said that drugs like cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis were present. One of the witnesses cited in the filings claimed that the 17-year-old girl was naked while people were there to “engage in sexual activities,” The Daily Beast reported.
The minor, identified in the filings as A.B., was said to have arrived in her mother's car, the party itself hosted at the home of Gaetz’s friend and Florida lobbyist, Chris Dorworth, on July 15, 2017. The affidavits were written by defense attorneys who interviewed witnesses as part of a civil lawsuit brought by Dorworth in 2023. The GOP lobbyist had claimed that he was unfairly linked to the alleged sex trafficking scandal that has dogged Gaetz for years. (Gaetz has not been indicted for any crime.)
While Dorworth ultimately dropped his case, lawyers filed the related legal documents in an attempt to recoup attorney fees for the baseless lawsuit.
“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 their filing. Three women placed Gaetz at the 2017 party, including K.M., an eyewitness, and B.G., the lawmaker’s ex-girlfriend.
The defense’s court filings also disclosed the findings of a digital forensic examiner who identified Gaetz’s 850 area code phone number, concluding that he had texted back and forth with Dorworth nearly 30 times on July 15. The congressman also called his friend twice just hours before the party began.
These documents are the first time that “that sworn testimony has been referenced in public court filings alleging that the congressman attended one of the long-rumored parties tied to an alleged underage sex scandal,” according to NOTUS.
Although the Department of Justice investigated Gaetz, it ultimately declined to file criminal charges. Gaetz has denied all allegations tying him to sex trafficking and engaging in sex with a minor.
