Rep. Matt Gaetz subpoenaed in lawsuit regarding Joel Greenberg sex scandal
ORLANDO, Fla. – Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz must testify under oath as part of a civil lawsuit that involves his past friendship with disgraced Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg and allegations Gaetz had sex with a teenage girl.
A subpoena was issued to Gaetz on Thursday by attorneys representing the woman, known in court filings as A.B., who is now in her early 20s. Gaetz is scheduled to give his testimony and answer questions on April 5.
The subpoena doesn’t list any topics Gaetz, who represents the Florida Panhandle, would be asked, said attorney Laura Wolf of Spark Justice Law, a Colorado law firm representing the woman, in an email Friday. The subpoena was first reported by ABC News.
In February 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice decided not to prosecute Gaetz on sex-trafficking charges, seemingly concluding a yearslong investigation that was launched soon after Greenberg was first arrested in June 2020. Federal prosecutors cited credibility concerns with witnesses, including Greenberg.
In a brief interview with the Orlando Sentinel on Friday, Greenberg’s attorney Fritz Scheller said in February he provided documents to a U.S. House Ethics Committee investigating whether Gaetz had sex with an underage girl while he was serving in Congress.
But Scheller offered no details about the documents. Greenberg had told federal investigators he had witnessed Gaetz having sex with the 17-year-old.
The current Gaetz subpoena comes in relation to a lawsuit filed by lobbyist and former state legislator Chris Dorworth in April 2023, in which he claims his former friend Greenberg, along with Greenberg’s wealthy parents, his ex-wife, the family’s businesses and A.B. coordinated a “massive effort” to destroy Dorworth’s reputation after he refused to urge Gaetz in the fall of 2020 to obtain a pardon from then-President Donald Trump.
The alleged effort included falsely accusing Dorworth of being involved in child sex trafficking, coordinating a ghost candidate scandal to help his friend state Sen. Jason Brodeur’s election, and other schemes, the suit said.
Gaetz has been a longtime ally of Trump. In 2019, Dorworth and Greenberg met Gaetz with their families on the White House Lawn for the annual Easter Egg Roll event and snapped photos with the president. Gaetz even called Greenberg his “wingman” during their friendship.
In his lawsuit, Dorworth calls the defendants the “Greenberg Racketeering Enterprise” and alleges that because of their actions, he “lost his job, reputation and more.”
The suit also details how Joel Greenberg angrily confronted Dorworth and his wife, Rebekah Dorworth, weeks after he was first arrested about why he was not helping him obtain a pardon.
Greenberg even “cornered” Rebekah Dorworth at a luxury hotel at that time, the suit says, and demanded she persuade Gaetz and Chris Dorworth to help him out by obtaining a preemptive pardon from Trump, even though he had not yet pleaded guilty to any crimes.
Besides being a one-time casual friend of Greenberg, Dorworth also represented the Seminole County Tax Collector’s Office from March 2017 through April 2018 under Greenberg’s tenure, reaping $87,770 as a lobbyist with the national firm Ballard Partners, according to county records.
Dorworth has said he severed ties with Greenberg in 2020 when the tax collector came under investigation by federal authorities.
Neither Gaetz nor his office responded to calls and emails from the Sentinel regarding the latest subpoena.
Gaetz was first elected to Congress in 2017 and has since become a polarizing figure representing his heavily Republican Panhandle district. Last September, he helped mastermind the ouster of fellow Republican and Speaker Kevin McCarthy. His father, Don Gaetz, served as president of the Florida Senate from 2012 through 2014 before leaving the Legislature in 2016.
Gaetz has stated he did not know the minor girl, and that the sex-scandal investigation is retaliation for helping to orchestrate McCarthy’s ouster, according to The New York Times. However, the investigation into Gaetz began in late 2020 under U.S. Attorney General William Barr after Greenberg began cooperating with federal investigators.
Gaetz has also claimed the investigation was part of an elaborate scheme to extort money from him and his wealthy father by a former Justice Department official who would keep quiet if he were paid.
Gaetz has called Dorworth one of his best friends and his legislative “mentor.”
Dorworth has said he voluntarily took polygraph tests in 2022 to rebut Greenberg’s allegations. The tests, conducted by a former FBI agent, found no evidence of deception by Dorworth.
Greenberg, who served as tax collector from January 2017 through June 2020, when he resigned, pleaded guilty in May 2021 to six felonies, including sex trafficking, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
He is currently serving an 11-year sentence.
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