Calls are mounting for the U.S. House Ethics Committee to make public a report that could shed more light on sexual misconduct allegations involving Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz and his ties to disgraced former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg.
Gaetz’s Wednesday resignation from Congress halted the House investigation, which is said to be “highly critical” of the North Florida Republican. The Ethics Committee was set to vote on the report Friday, Punchbowl News first reported, but with Gaetz’s departure, it no longer has jurisdiction to investigate or sanction him.
But two U.S. senators and a lawyer representing a woman involved in the case said Thursday the report shouldn’t be hidden. Gaetz’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate, which could prove to be an uphill climb.
“Mr. Gaetz’s likely nomination as Attorney General is a perverse development in a truly dark series of events,” attorney John Clune said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We would support the House Ethics Committee immediately releasing their report. She was a high school student and there were witnesses.”
Clune is one of the Colorado attorneys representing the woman who was an underage escort at the time of sexual misconduct with Greenberg and allegations involving Gaetz. ABC News reported Thursday afternoon, citing sources familiar with the investigation, that the woman testified to the committee that she had sex with Gaetz when she was 17.
The committee investigated other matters, as well, saying in an unusual public update over the summer that it was probing whether Gaetz “dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.”
Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn said they want to see the report.
Gaetz, 42, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. For two years, the U.S. Department of Justice investigated allegations that he had sex with the 17-year-old girl and possibly violated federal sex-trafficking laws, but charges weren’t brought. The Justice Department has never explained that decision publicly.
Selected by President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to be the next U.S. Attorney General, Gaetz has a checkered history in Central Florida, even though he is from Florida’s Panhandle.
Gaetz became close friends with Greenberg, the former Seminole tax collector, soon after Greenberg took office in January 2017.
The pair were often seen dining, attending parties and traveling together. It’s not clear how they met.
Over time, Greenberg’s corrupt behavior in office and illicit sexual activities drew increasing notice, and he eventually resigned in disgrace in June 2020. He was charged with 33 federal crimes.
He admitted guilt on six counts, including sex trafficking of a child, as part of a plea agreement in which he agreed to help federal prosecutors on other investigations. Greenberg is serving an 11-year sentence at a federal prison in Miami.
As the probe continued, Gaetz’s name emerged. Investigators delved into whether Gaetz also had sex with an underage girl and used illicit drugs.
Details of those allegations have emerged in separate court filings, describing Gaetz attending a party filled with drugs and paid escorts at the Heathrow home of former state Rep. Chris Dorworth, according to witnesses.
One of the escorts attending the event was the 17-year-old girl, known in legal documents as A.B., who has been at the center of the Greenberg sex-trafficking scandal.
The witnesses said that call girls roamed the home, heading into the bedrooms “to engage in sexual activities, as well as alcohol, cocaine, ecstasy.”
These court documents, originally sealed, were part of a federal lawsuit filed by Dorworth in April 2023 against Greenberg, his family, Greenberg’s ex-wife and A.B., claiming they ruined his reputation. Dorworth dropped the suit in September and the Gaetz accusations subsequently became public.
But the filings made public so far — much of the testimony remains under seal — do not include allegations or any evidence that Gaetz used illegal drugs or had sex with any of the women, including the underage girl.
Jacob Bliss, a spokesman for Gaetz’s office, said in a September email to the Sentinel that Gaetz “never participated” in the alleged events.
“If people said otherwise, they are either confused or lying,” Bliss said.
Dorworth has said he was at a friend’s birthday celebration at the time and did not attend the party at his home.
After the girl turned 18, she reportedly accompanied Gaetz, then-state Rep. Halsey Beshears and Orlando doctor Jason Pirozzolo for a weekend trip to The Bahamas in 2018 to discuss the state’s regulation of medical marijuana.
That island getaway aboard a private plane also was part of the federal investigation into Gaetz, according to CNN.
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In another incident that raised eyebrows, Greenberg and Gaetz were recorded walking into the tax collector’s Lake Mary office on Primera Drive together while it was closed on a weekend night in 2018, according to Sentinel interviews with several people who worked at the office and saw the videotape.
The people alleged that the footage showed Greenberg going through baskets where old driver’s licenses, turned in by residents for disposal, were kept. He later went into a back room without Gaetz.
Authorities have said Greenberg had several stolen IDs in his work vehicle and fake licenses in his wallet when he was first arrested in June 2020 at his Heathrow home.
Gaetz and his staff did not respond to requests to comment on the allegations at the time.
In February 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice decided against pursuing sex-trafficking charges against Gaetz, according to his lawyers, following the department’s two-year investigation.
The House Ethics Committee then launched its investigation into Gaetz, which is believed to have covered much of the same ground. The committee’s burden of proof differs from that of the Justice Department because it considers ethical and reputational missteps, not just criminal conduct.
The ethics panel could have recommended Gaetz be expelled or censured, said David Jolly, a former Florida congressman. But Jolly insisted it would be highly unusual to release an ethics report after a member has resigned. Such a move, though, has happened. In 1987, the House ethics panel released its findings on former Rep. Bill Boner, D-Tenn., even after he resigned to become mayor of Nashville.
It’s possible Gaetz’s report could find its way into the public spotlight given the political enemies he has made, Jolly said.
“The truth is Gaetz has no friends in Washington,” he said.
Gaetz led efforts last year to oust Former GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, sparking a bitter feud with the California politician and his allies.
Several top Florida Republicans were unfazed on Thursday by Gaetz’s baggage. Evan Power, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, said in a statement that Gaetz “will be an exceptional attorney general for President Trump, ensuring that our principles of liberty and justice continue to thrive.”
State Sen. Joe Gruters, a close Trump ally, called Gaetz a longtime friend who will do an “amazing job.”
“President Trump has a mandate to shake things up, and this selection will do exactly that,” the Sarasota Republican said.
Pressed by reporters on Capitol Hill, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said he had “a good working relationship” with Gaetz when he was governor and called him a “hard worker.”
Gaetz’s detractors, though, say his record makes him unfit to be attorney general. State Rep. Anna Eskamani said she once received an unusual voicemail from Gaetz and Greenberg in which the former tax collector said they had been discussing her “lovely qualities.”
His reputation in Tallahassee was of “someone who played games scoring women,” the Orlando Democrat said of Gaetz, who got his political start in the Florida House of Representatives.
“Nominating Matt Gaetz as attorney general is a dangerous move for democracy,” she said. “His personal track record doesn’t inspire integrity.”