A “close friend” of Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s nominee for US attorney general, has asked a court to destroy records that could shed light on the details of a sex party with an underage girl he allegedly attended Gaetz.

The tapes include witness statements about a 2017 party that contained drugs, a 17-year-old sex-trafficking victim and, allegedly, Gaetz himself. Christopher Dorworth, who describes himself in a lawsuit as a “close friend” of Gaetz, has filed two motions asking that the recordings be withheld from his release and “expunged from the criminal record,” court records reviewed by Rolling Stone and the American Doom show.

It is now up to a federal court to decide whether to release the records. As attorney general, Gaetz would have significant influence over the federal judiciary. Trump nominated Gaetz for attorney general on Wednesday.

“The public interest is not served in any way by the release of confidential information that the court never relied upon in making any decision in this case,” Dorworth’s attorneys wrote in an Oct. 16 filing. Furthermore, Dorworth “intends to request that the evidence be expunged entirely from the criminal record,” his attorneys wrote.

The existence of records that could provide more details about the alleged 2017 sex party comes as Gaetz prepares to ascend to the highest and most powerful role of his political career — U.S. attorney general. Some Republicans expressed concern on Gaetz’s nomination to oversee a Justice Department investigation into the congressman over sex-trafficking allegations until last winter. The DOJ declined to charge Gaetz, prompting the House Ethics Committee to investigate the matter.

In nominating Gaetz, Trump said in a statement that the Florida congressman would tackle “weaponizing” the justice system and “remove systemic corruption from the DOJ and return the Department to its true mission of fighting crime and supporting our democracy. and the Constitution.”

Gaetz, for his part, immediately resigned from his congressional seat Wednesday night, just ahead of an expected vote on whether to release a House Ethics Committee report on the allegations against him, according to Punchbowl News. As such, the commission no longer has the authority to investigate him.

It’s unclear whether Gaetz will have trouble being confirmed as attorney general in the Republican-led Senate. It might not matter either way: Trump has asked Republicans to allow him to make recess appointments without Senate approval. New Senate Majority Leader John Thune (RS.D.) POSTED Sunday: “We need to move quickly and decisively to get the nominees to the president as soon as possible, (and) all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments.”

Gaetz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawmaker has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The unreleased records in the Florida case stem, in part, from a defamation lawsuit against Joel Greenberg, a friend of Gaetz’s who is now serving an 11-year sentence for his role in sex-trafficking the victim, among other crimes. The Miami Herald pushed for the records to be released.

One of the judges in the case, Daniel Irick, an Obama appointee, chastised Dorworth for fighting for their release.

“This is a case of public importance,” Irick said in August, according to NOTUS. “It’s one that there might be media interest in, and it’s one that involves important issues … I don’t see any privacy that would really overwhelm the public’s right to see this case, particularly when a plaintiff files complaints. relationship with their marriage and spouses and the type of intimate issues in this case, which are set forth in extreme detail in the … complaint. I’m unlikely to seal anything because everything seems relevant.”

It’s up to Irick and another judge, Carlos Mendoza, also appointed by Obama, to determine whether to release the records.

Dorworth sued Greenberg for implicating him in the party’s events and ties to the victim, referred to in court documents as “AB,” but has since dropped that suit. Dorworth’s attorneys argue that 27 pieces of evidence — which include depositions and affidavits from witnesses at the party — should be kept under seal now that the lawsuit has been dismissed by Dorworth.

“These 27 files, irrelevant to this case, have been covered by the press because of their salacious allegations, despite the absence of any pertinent judicial purpose,” Dorworth’s attorneys wrote in an Oct. 3 filing supporting Greenberg’s motion to seal the records in question. .

No judge has ruled on the matter since Oct. 22, according to court records.

The 17-year-old victim in the case placed Gaetz at the party in 2017. Greenberg admitted to having sex with AB when she was 17. Greenberg finally wrote a confession saying Gaetz paid him to have sex with women, including at least one 17-year-old girl. Documents previously released as part of Dorworth’s trial placed Gaetz at the party because of his ex-girlfriend’s testimony. NOTUS reported.

In his lawsuit, Dorworth, a former Ballard Partners lobbyist, alleged that Greenberg blackmailed him along with his “close friend,” Gaetz, in a failed attempt to obtain a presidential pardon from then-President Trump. When Dorworth and Gaetz told Greenberg they were unable to help him with his situation, Dorworth claims Greenberg began accusing the two of wrongdoing.

According to the lawsuit, Gaetz asked Dorworth to convey to Greenberg, “you’ve done some really bad things and you’ve got some really bad times ahead of you, but there’s nothing I can do to help you.”

While Greenberg was sentenced to prison for having sex with the victim and other crimes, Gaetz’s political star continued to rise despite the allegations against him.

Talk of Gaetz’s sexual escapades didn’t just come from Greenberg. In October 2023, then rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Ok.) accused Gaetz of bragging about sleeping with young women on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“We had all seen the videos … of the girls he slept with,” Mullin CNN said last year. “He would crush the ED (erectile dysfunction) meds and follow it up with an energy drink so he could go all night.” (On Wednesday, now Sen. Mullin said he had “complete” confidence in Trump’s decision to nominate Gaetz.)

Then in April, former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy accused Gaetz of leading the successful effort to remove him from his role as speaker because he would not stop the Ethics Committee’s investigation.

Gaetz “wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because she slept with a 17-year-old,” McCarthy. he said at an event at Georgetown University.

“Now, did he or didn’t he? I don’t know. But ethics was looking at it,” McCarthy continued. “There are other people in prison because of this. And he wanted me to influence him.”

Gaetz responded by calling McCarthy a “liar”.

This story is published in partnership with American Dooma newsletter that focuses on right-wing extremism and other threats to democracy.

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