By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-19 17:02:24 | Updated at 2024-11-23 16:05:46
3 days ago
A hacker is said to have gained access to a trove of damaging files related to Donald Trump's pick to be U.S. Attorney General, former congressman Matt Gaetz, including testimony from a woman who claims they had sex when she was 17.
A file of 23 exhibits related to allegations against Gaetz, 42, were accessed by a man using the pseudonym Altam Beezley, The New York Times reported.
The documents are said include sworn testimony from two witnesses at the center of the lurid claims against Gaetz.
The documents have not been made public and a lawyer who reached out to Beezley got a response saying the email was no longer in use, the report states.
The unidentified women have reportedly said he attended 'drug-fueled sex parties' and paid for sex.
Joel Leppard, an attorney for two of Gaetz's alleged victims, claimed he used 'adopted son' Nestor Galban's PayPal account to pay for 'sexual favors'.
Gaetz has strenuously denied the accusations that have cast a shadow over the nomination process to be the top law enforcement officer in the United States.
The Department of Justice, which he is in line to run, also opted against pressing charges.
A hacker is said to have gained access to a trove of damaging files related to Matt Gaetz, including testimony from a woman who claims they had sex when she was 17
The DOJ decided, in part, not to prosecute the case over concerns the witnesses would not appear credible if they went to trial.
The former Florida Republican Rep. resigned from Congress after Trump nominated him to be his attorney general.
His resignation came before the House could vote on whether they should release the investigation into Gaetz's alleged sexual relationship with a minor, drug abuse, and other charges.
The House Ethics Committee is weighing whether or not to release the report anyway.
The president-elect has since been calling Republican Senators to personally attest for Gaetz, and push them to vote to confirm him.
Meanwhile it was revealed that one of the women testified to the Ethics committee that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old at a party.
Florida attorney Joel Leppard said his client witnessed Gaetz having sex with the minor at a drug-fueled party in July 2017. Gaetz was unaware of her age at the time but subsequently was told she was underage.
That woman and another woman testified that they were paid by Gaetz to have sex with him and other individuals who attended these 'sex parties.'
Trump, however, is standing by his nominee. The president-elect is personally calling senators to push them to vote to confirm as his attorney general.
An attorney for two of Gaetz's alleged victims claimed he used 'adopted son' Nestor Galban's (second from left) PayPal account to pay for 'sexual favors
Gaetz shocked Congress in 2020 when he revealed he had an adopted son. He said he was dating Galban's sister and the boy's mother had recently died from cancer when they all moved in together.
He did not formally adopt Nestor but says: 'Our relationship as a family is defined by our love for each other, not by any paperwork.'
Nestor Galban was only 12 when he arrived in the U.S. from Cuba in 2014. He lived with Gaetz for four years after his arrival. He then lived with his biological father for a year before moving back in with Gaetz after he turned 18. Galban is now a U.S. citizen.
Gaetz, a pro-MAGA hardliner and Trump loyalist, has called for criminal investigations of Trump critics, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey. He's also said he would 'abolish' agencies like the FBI, which he would oversee as attorney general.
'One thing about Donald Trump, people should never confuse his support for one of his nominees as a tactical or strategic tool for somebody else,' Cramer said. 'And at least to this point, he's putting his own political capital behind it.'
Gaetz (pictured with wife Ginger and Robert F. Kennedy Jr at Mar-a-Lago last week) has strenuously denied the accusations that have cast a shadow over the nomination process to be the top law enforcement officer in the United States
'And he's a pretty persuasive guy,' he added.
Meanwhile, Trump allies are looking at getting Gaetz in as head of the Justice Department even if the Senate won't confirm him.
They could use the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which would potentially allow Trump to temporarily make Gaetz head of the Department of Justice in an 'acting' capacity for an extended period of time.
Gaetz faces an uphill climb to secure the 51 votes needed for Senate approval. There is also concerned the spectacle of confirmation hearings could be a distraction in the first few months of Trump's second term.
Still, Trump appears undeterred when it comes to getting his long time ally in the Justice Department.
