By Alleged damning evidence from the House Ethics Committee against Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general may be coming out regardless of Republicans decide to do. An unidentified hacker has reportedly breached a confidential legal file containing damaging testimony against Matt Gaetz, former Florida congressman. The file, which had been shared via a secure link among attorneys involved in a civil lawsuit, reportedly includes 24 exhibits, some alleging Gaetz engaged in sexual activity with a 17-year-old in 2017. This information comes from a source familiar with the breach.
The cyberattack occurred Monday at 1:23 p.m., with the files downloaded by a user operating under the alias “Altam Beezley,” according to the source. An attorney connected to the case attempted to contact the hacker through an associated email address but received an automated response indicating that the address was invalid. As of Tuesday morning, the stolen materials have not been publicly released, and the hacker has made no contact with any involved parties, according to DNYUZ.
The documents include information that is under seal with the Justice Department, which investigated Mr. Gaetz but did not file charges, and the House Committee on Ethics, which has completed its own inquiry into the former congressman. The Ethics panel’s members are scheduled to meet on Wednesday to decide on whether to vote to release material it has gathered.
But the hacked trove of documents stems from an altogether different source: a civil suit being pursued by a friend of Mr. Gaetz’s, Christopher Dorworth, a Florida businessman. Mr. Dorworth filed the suit against both the woman who says she had sex with Mr. Gaetz when she was a minor and Joel Greenberg, an erstwhile ally of Mr. Gaetz who is serving an 11-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to federal sex trafficking charges involving the woman.
Mr. Dorworth has claimed that he was defamed by Mr. Greenberg and the woman, both of whom had told federal authorities that Mr. Dorworth hosted parties where he, they, Mr. Gaetz and others took drugs and openly had sex
In mustering their defense, lawyers for Mr. Greenberg and the woman have solicited sworn statements from others who they say were witnesses. The 24 exhibits were attached to a motion prepared by lawyers for Mr. Greenberg and the woman in response to Mr. Dorworth’s suit.
Additionally, the files feature sworn statements from Christopher Dorworth and his wife, as well as Michael Fischer, a former campaign treasurer for Matt Gaetz, who is also reported to have been present at the gathering. Other evidence, such as gate logs documenting arrivals at the Dorworth property on the evening in July 2017 when the women allege the incident occurred, is also part of the breached information.
This breach has sparked renewed debate about the ethical and practical challenges of handling sensitive information in digital formats. One of Gaetz’s defenders, Marjorie Taylor Greene, has threatened to disclose “all” of Republicans’ “sexual harassment and assault claims” as well as “the entire Jeffrey Epstein files” if the House Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz is released to the public by the committee.
“For my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate, If we are going to release ethics reports and rip apart our own that Trump has appointed, then put it ALL out there for the American people to see,” wrote Greene on Twtter.
For my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate,
If we are going to release ethics reports and rip apart our own that Trump has appointed, then put it ALL out there for the American people to see.
Yes..
all the ethics reports and claims including the one I filed
all…
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 19, 2024
Since 1997, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights has paid out $18.2 million to settle 291 cases of workplace disputes for Congress, the Capitol Police, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Library of Congress, according to a 2021 report by RealClearPolicy.
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