Two women spoke to CNN about parties they attended in the Orlando area that included Rep. Matt Gaetz, local Republican officials and associate Joel Greenberg. Both women spoke on the condition of anonymity, and Baller Alert has not independently confirmed their accounts.
According to the women, guests were asked to put away their phones when they arrived. They described drugs being passed around and said some guests were intimate with one another. One of them described Gaetz as a “frat type of party boy” who liked to talk politics. The other said some gatherings were more low key and took place in hotel suites after political events.
CNN reported that it reviewed digital payment receipts from 2018 and 2019 showing that Greenberg and Gaetz sent money to at least one woman who attended. One of the women told CNN that she received money from Greenberg, some of it tied to sex, but never directly from Gaetz. Both women said they never saw anyone under 18 at the events and that neither has been interviewed by federal investigators.
One woman said she spoke out because the picture of Gaetz that has emerged in the news does not match what she saw.
The accounts come as the Justice Department investigates Gaetz. According to people familiar with the case, cited by multiple outlets, investigators are looking at whether he had a relationship with a woman who was 17 and whether he paid women for travel. Greenberg, a former Seminole County tax collector, faces 33 federal charges, including sex trafficking of a child. A source told CNN that Greenberg has been giving investigators information, and his attorney, Fritz Scheller, told a judge that a plea deal was likely in the coming weeks.
Gaetz has denied ever paying for sex. He has said the investigation is politically motivated and told Fox News that paying for flights and hotel rooms for adults he was dating is not a crime. Gaetz has not been charged. He recently added New York attorney Marc Mukasey to his legal team.
Chris Dorworth, a former Florida state lawmaker and friend of Gaetz, stepped down from his role at a lobbying firm after The New York Times reported on his contacts with Gaetz about a local election. Dorworth said he did not want the media attention to distract from the firm’s work.
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