A woman who claims she had sex with Matt Gaetz when she was a minor reportedly told the House Ethics Committee that she also had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017, and that one had involved another woman.
The woman, who was 17 years old at the time, also testified to both sexual encounters in a civil deposition as part of a related lawsuit, sources familiar with the testimony said.
After weeks of skepticism from both sides of the political aisle, the former Florida congressman announced on Thursday that he would be withdrawing his name for consideration as US Attorney General, having been nominated by Donald Trump.
“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” he wrote. Gaetz has previously denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
However, according to CNN, the decision came 45 minutes after it had called to ask for comment on the second alleged sexual encounter with the minor.
The other woman, who was an adult at the time, has denied participating in the alleged second encounter, multiple sources familiar with her ethics testimony told the outlet.
Announcing his withdrawal, Gaetz said: “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General.”
He added: “I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
It comes after members of the Republican-led House Ethics panel voted not to release the results of their investigation into Gaetz on Wednesday, despite mounting pressure. The committee will meet again on December 5 to vote on the final report.
I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance…
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 21, 2024
Gaetz, 42, previously faced a Justice Department’s investigation into allegations he sex trafficked a minor, but this has since been closed. He faced no criminal charges.
However, the claims of Gaetz’s alleged sexual encounters with the 17-year-old girl surfaced during a civil lawsuit, brought by a Florida businessman and friend of Gaetz’s – Christopher Dorworth.
Dorworth filed the suit against the woman who claims she had sex with Gaetz when she was 17, and Joel Greenberg, an ally of Gaetz who is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to federal sex trafficking charges involving the same woman.
In the suit, Dorworth has claimed that he was defamed by both Greenberg and the woman, who both told federal authorities that he hosted parties where he and multiple people – including Gaetz – took drugs and openly had sex.
