Rep. Matt Gaetz was subpoenaed today by the young woman who he was accused of having sex with when she was a minor.
The Florida Congressman has denied any wrongdoing — including accusations of not only having sex with a 17-year-old girl, but also for sex trafficking — while being investigated on and off for years. Gaetz, in 2021, even went so so far as to deny that the minor in question existed.
But today, said minor, who is now in her 20s, proved that yes, she does exist. And he's to appear in court on April 5th. (See the ABC News video below.)
From ABC News:
The congressman's deposition…is part of a sprawling defamation and racketeering lawsuit brought by Gaetz's longtime friend, former Florida House member and lobbyist Chris Dorworth, against the woman and others.
The deposition could see Gaetz asked under oath about his alleged sexual activity with the woman when she was a minor.
According to court documents, Dorworth filed a lawsuit last year against Gaetz's one-time associate Joel Greenberg, who in 2022 was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to several charges including sex trafficking a minor, members of his wealthy family, and the woman Gaetz allegedly had sex with when she was a minor. …
And while Gaetz is not a party in the civil suit, the lawsuit mentions the Florida congressman by name and the allegations against him numerous times, including alleging that the one-time minor at the center of the case worked to "falsely implicated Dorworth, Gaetz, and others in sexual impropriety."
Gaetz is also facing a congressional ethics probe into a string of allegations stemming from the Justice Department investigation including sex trafficking a minor and potential lobbying violations.
As an eyebrow-raising side note, Gaetz was one of only 20 lawmakers in the House — along with Rep. Lauren Boebert — to vote against a law that protects victims of sex trafficking and doles out harsh penalties to those convicted of it. Fortunately, the bipartisan law was supported by the rest of the 401 lawmakers and thus passed with flying colors.
