A woman claimed she had sex with Matt Gaetz at a 'drug-fueled' orgy, alleging that she was paid to attend the event after text messages surfaced suggesting that Gaetz had invited her to a three-day trip to the Florida Keys. However, Gaetz's representative said that he didn't know any such woman but the alleged text messages prove something else.
According to the woman's lawyer, who spoke to the Daily Beast, she received payment for attending several drug-fueled sex parties involving people associated with Gaetz, and during one such party, she had sexual intercourse with Gaetz. The woman made the bombshell claims in 2021 but the text messages have surfaced now.
Gaetz and His Orgies
"She told [the investigators] that she and lots of girls were provided all kinds of controlled substances at these parties," the lawyer said.
"The availability of vast amounts of alcohol and controlled substances gave rise to the lack of control of the hormonal imperative, which inspired people to engage in intimate behavior that may or may not have been because they were financially remunerated."
The bombshell revelations come after Gaetz's spokesperson denied the congressman's awareness of the woman in question when ABC News released text messages indicating Gaetz had organized a trip and his associate Joel Greenberg was paying her for sexual services.
The Ethics Committee reportedly held a closed-door meeting on Thursday to address the allegations against the Florida congressman.
The woman's lawyer revealed that she has provided the Justice Department and the House Ethics Committee with text messages, photos, and other evidence.
She also testified under subpoena to U.S. attorneys. Venmo transactions examined by the Daily Beast indicate that the woman received around $2,500 from Gaetz's now-jailed friend Greenberg, between March and July 2017.
Greenberg included notes such as "travel," "being cool," "stuff," and the misspelled name of another friend in the payments. In July 2017, she requested $500 from Greenberg and used a policewoman emoji in the memo line.
The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Gaetz in April 2021 but temporarily halted it during the ongoing Department of Justice (DOJ) probe.
In the spring of the same year, an associate of Gaetz, who had also attended the parties, allegedly met with the woman to determine if she had shared any information or details about the gatherings with others.
The woman's lawyer claimed that his client felt intimidated during the meeting, emphasizing that the primary objective was to ensure her silence. "This associate was there asking her over and over and over what she had said, demanding she tell them," the lawyer said.
Difficult but Brave Step
The lawyer said that his client's choice to step forward was "a challenging and emotionally taxing experience." "The fact that nothing has come of it has kind of astonished her, who along with all the others had been the focal point of such an intense investigation," the woman's lawyer said.
"For them to go through all that and then for the target of the investigation to just get a wink and a nod has created for some of them a loss of faith in the system."
The Daily Beast reported that it obtained text messages, transaction records, and photos, including a selfie featuring the woman alongside Gaetz.
The report suggests that some of the texts and images obtained by The Daily Beast align with the documents described in ABC News' coverage of the issue.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that text messages allegedly show Gaetz inviting the woman to travel on a private plane and join him, along with one other woman and three other men, in the Florida Keys.
"Hey -- any interest in flying on a private plane to the keys May 19-21?" the congressman allegedly wrote.
Gaetz reportedly informed the woman, whom ABC News describes as "older than 21," the trip would feature "2 guys, 4 girls. A very high-quality adventurous group."
"Yeah I'm in," replied the woman.
Gaetz then allegedly wrote back: "Fantastic. As is true with all time you spend w me, it'll be fun and chill [...] You have a passport?"
Both ABC and the Daily Beast reported that the woman ultimately did not go on the Florida Keys trip.
According to reports, Greenberg has told investigators that he paid the woman to engage in sexual activities with other men on their behalf.
Gaetz's office denied any knowledge on the part of the congressman regarding Greenberg paying the woman for sexual services.
