"Unknown and unauthorized third party" has gained access to Matt Gaetz depositions, source says
Washington — An "unknown and unauthorized third party" has gained access to two dozen depositions of witnesses tied to the various investigations into former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, CBS News has learned.
The leaked materials are part of a civil defamation case filed by Chris Dorworth, a lobbyist who is close to Gaetz. These materials include the sworn deposition of the minor with whom Gaetz allegedly had sex.
According to a source familiar with the matter and an email viewed by CBS News, the person who gained access went by the name "Altam Beezley."
Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing. The New York Times first reported on the alleged leak.
Gaetz was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee and Justice Department, though federal prosecutors declined to bring charges against him last year. The Ethics panel was looking into allegations the former congressman engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other accusations. But Gaetz resigned his seat in the House last week after President-elect Donald Trump announced he had selected the Florida Republican to serve as his attorney general.
Because Gaetz is no longer a House member, the Ethics Committee's jurisdiction over him has ended.
Trump's announcement of Gaetz as his pick for attorney general came days before the ethics panel was set to convene to vote on whether to release a potentially damaging report detailing the findings of its investigation into the former congressman.
The committee postponed the meeting, which was set for Friday, though two sources told CBS News that it is now set to gather Wednesday. House Speaker Mike Johnson has cautioned against releasing the report on Gaetz, telling CNN on Sunday that the Ethics Committee's jurisdiction does not extend to non-members of Congress.
But some lawmakers, including in the Senate, have said the public should have access to it. Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the Ethics Committee, told reporters Monday that the panel's report should be made public and released to the Senate, which would vote after Trump takes office on whether to confirm Gaetz as attorney general.
Wild said she believes the committee should vote on whether to disclose the report and estimates there is unanimous support from Democrats on the Ethics Committee to do so. But making the report public would require support from a majority of the panel, so at least one Republican would have to join their Democratic colleagues in voting to give the American people access.
The House Ethics Committee launched into allegations of misconduct against Gaetz in April 2021, but deferred its consideration in response to a request from the Justice Department. It resumed its investigation in May 2023 after federal investigators declined to charge Gaetz following their sex-trafficking and obstruction probe.
In June, the Ethics Committee said "certain allegations merit continued review" after it issued more than two dozen subpoenas and spoke with more than a dozen witnesses. The panel said it was looking into claims Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, gave "special privileges and favors" to people close to him and sought to obstruct government investigations into his conduct.
The former congressman has denied any wrongdoing and has called the ethics investigation a "smear." Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesman for Trump's transition, said in a statement Monday that "Matt Gaetz will be the next Attorney General. He's the right man for the job and will end the weaponization of our justice system. These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration."
A lawyer for two women who spoke with the Ethics Committee told CBS News on Monday that they testified that Gaetz paid them directly and repeatedly for sex, and said Venmo transactions for the encounters were obtained by the panel.
The attorney, Joel Leppard, also said the women told House investigators that Gaetz asked about "party favors" and "vitamins" at upcoming parties via text messages, which was understood to be code for drugs. One of Leppard's clients testified before the Ethics Committee that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old against a game table during a July 2017 party, months after he was sworn in as a House member.