Social media users proclaimed the end of Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) career, following a new affidavit and court filing that stated the Republican lawmaker attended a drug-fueled sex party in 2017 with a 17-year-old girl. At the time, Gaetz was in his 30s.
That teenager was at the center of a sex trafficking probe that involved Gaetz. The Justice Department dropped its investigation without charges against the congressman, but a House Ethics probe on allegations of sexual misconduct is ongoing.
Joel Greenberg, a former associate of Gaetz, was convicted in connection to the investigation and was sentenced to 11 years.
Gaetz’s critics long cited the allegations concerning his alleged involvement with the 17-year-old, with opponents running ads spotlighting the claim and critics including former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy bashing him for it.
And now, a public filing citing sealed affidavits from three eyewitness testimonies is roiling critics—and leading many to conclude that Gaetz’s career is toast.
According to NOTUS, which was the first to report on the new filing, the then-high school junior arrived at a party at the home of Gaetz’s friend Chris Dorworth. There, sworn affidavits allege, she was naked and that partygoers were there to “engage in sexual activities.” Testimony places Gaetz at the same party.
The report noted that records show Gaetz and Dorworth texted back and forth 30 times the day of the party and that Gaetz called him twice in the hours before.
Dorworth claimed Greenberg attempted to frame him and initially brought a defamation suit against Greenberg that he later dropped. The affidavits stem from that case.
Gaetz, for his part, previously strongly denied the allegations—at one point going so far as to claim that the unnamed minor “doesn’t exist.”
The bombshell report from NOTUS quickly went viral online, with social media users concluding Gaetz’s career is done.
“Matt Gaetz [was at] his buddy’s house for coke-fueled parties to have sex with [an underage girl] and the prosecution has the cell phone records to prove it… he is cooked,” wrote one person.
“Please be true (the cooked part),” replied someone else.
“He thought he’d run to replace DeSantis,” swiped another person. “Oh happy day.”
“Oh he’s done,” echoed one user.
“Matt Gaetz is cooked,” agreed someone else.
But some critics aren’t holding their breath.
“You’d think ‘drug fueled’, ‘sex party’, and ’17-year-old’ would be phrases in the same paragraph that are non-conducive to continuing a political career,” one person said. “But hey, I’m from the 70s so I struggle with ‘new math.’”
Mused another person: “Gaetz has been ‘going down’ for years now. I’ll hold my applause.”
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