A young woman involved in the sex trafficking investigation around Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., told prosecutors in 2021 that she had sex with the Florida Republican at a party swamped with drugs that she was paid to attend, the woman's attorney told The Daily Beast. The woman, the attorney added, received payments related to several sex parties with Gaetz's associates, testified about her experiences to U.S. Attorneys investigating the matter and turned over text messages, photos and other evidence to the DOJ as part of its inquiry into whether the Florida congressman paid for sex with an underage girl.
ABC News reported Wednesday that the House Ethics Committee had obtained text messages between Gaetz and the woman, whom the lawyer told the Daily Beast was older than 21 at the time of the encounters and had stressed to prosecutors the sex was consensual. While the lawyer said committee investigators have not yet approached him, the committee is now reviewing the evidence as part of its probe into Gaetz's alleged conduct.
On Thursday afternoon the lawmakers met privately to discuss the probe, which is investigating allegations that accuse Gaetz of public corruption, solicitation of prostitution, exhibition of nude photos of sexual partners on the House floor, illicit drug use, campaign finance violations and accepting bribes or impermissible gifts.
The woman's attorney also told the Daily Beast that, around the probe's start in 2021, a male associate of Gaetz and party attendee pressed the woman on whether she was speaking to anyone about the events in a meeting she felt was intended to intimidate her. When approached for comment, a spokesperson for Gaetz told the outlet, “Rep. Gaetz does not know anything about the woman you’re referencing." They also did not reply when the Daily Beast provided the woman's name.
