Capping off the craziest Friday news dump ever to transpire on a Thursday (see also Olivia Nuzzi, RFK Jr., Mark Robinson), the nonprofit news site NOTUS.org published a story in the wee hours of the morning about an eleventh-hour court filing containing allegations that place Gaetz in the middle of a scenario whose existence he has vehemently denied.
Filed by attorneys who are attempting to recover legal fees in a lawsuit Dorworth filed in 2023, the documents (two of them are attached at the bottom of this story) cite sealed affidavits from the testimonies of three eyewitness, including a claim from one who says the teen, a high school junior at the time who is identified only as A.B., was naked at the July 2017 party while people in engaged in "sexual activities" and used drugs like cocaine and ecstasy.
Notably, this marks the first time sworn testimony mentioned in public documents has placed Gaetz at one of the parties linked to the scandal.
Owing to copious redactions, parts of the documents in the filing read like a word salad. Nevertheless, Gaetz is present and accounted for at the aforementioned party, held at the Seminole County home of Chris Dorworth, a lobbyist and former Republican state legislator.
"The discovery taken in this case to date reflects that on Saturday, July 15, 2017, the Plaintiff, Christopher Dorworth, hosted a party at his residence located at 1520 Whistable Court; Lake Mary, Florida 32746 (hereinafter, "the Dorworth Residence") with the following guests present: (1) A.B.; (2) K M; (3) B G; (4) Matt Gaetz; (5) C F; (6) Christopher Dorworth; (7); (8) Joel Greenberg; (9) Joe Ellicott; (10) Mike Fischer; (11) an unidentified male; and (12) two unidentified females," one of the documents states. A.B. is said to have driven to what's later characterized as the "sex party" in her mother's car.
Another document describes the gathering as "one of multiple parties at Dorworth's home that involved 'alcohol; cocaine; middle-aged men; and young attractive females.'... This party sits at the heart of this case."
Part of a federal court filing that links U.S. Rep Matt Gaetz to a party that allegedly involved "alcohol; cocaine; middle-aged men; and young attractive females."
Screenshot via Dorworth v. Greenberg, et al.
There's also a footnoted reference to "an air hockey table."
Gaetz did not respond to NOTUS' request for comment. He has not publicly addressed the site's report.
In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) began investigating allegations that Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her cross-state travel — a potential violation of federal sex-trafficking laws.
The probe, which concluded in February 2023 when the DOJ declined to file criminal charges against Gaetz, stemmed from a criminal investigation into former Seminole County, Florida, tax collector Joel Greenberg, who is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for fraud and sex trafficking involving a minor, among other charges.
In March 2021, Gaetz appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show and denied the allegations that he'd had sex with an underage girl.
"The person doesn't exist. I have not had a relationship with a 17-year-old," he claimed. "That is totally false."
Records show that A.B. was born in 1999 and that she attended three weekly deposition sessions in July of this year where she testified in the presence of attorneys in Boulder, Colorado.
As NOTUS reported, the new information was released in a slew of filings that were made public as a result of Dorworth's attempts to make the scandal disappear. In May 2023, the lobbyist filed a defamation lawsuit against several people, including A.B., after the DOJ closed its Gaetz investigation.
Dorworth dropped his suit earlier this month.
The lobbyist texted NOTUS after the site published its story, reiterating his prior claims that he "never met" the teenager, "not once in my life," and that "[s]he is also lying about Matt Gaetz." Added NOTUS, "Dorworth said his account is supported by a polygraph test he took years ago during which he was asked about the alleged encounters, and he noted that he is 'still suing Joel, his parents, and his company in state court.' He also took issue with the way defense lawyers referenced material that he stressed was 'confidential.'"
