December 2022: Greenberg is sentenced to 11 years in prison. During his sentencing hearing, Judge Gregory A. Presnell says, per the New York Times. “I have never seen a defendant who has committed so many different types of crimes in such a short period.”
February 2023: The Justice Department ends its investigation into Gaetz without bringing charges. Per Time, prosecutors struggled with witness credibility, including Greenberg’s. The House Ethics Committee, which had deferred their investigation while the DOJ worked on their own case against Gaetz, reopens their investigation.
Summer 2023: The House Ethics committee says it is now looking into additional allegations against Gaetz, including “illicit drug use, accepting improper gifts, and potentially obstructing government investigations into his conduct,” per Time.
September 2024: Eyewitnesses claim in sworn affidavits that Gaetz attended a drug-fueled sex party with the 17-year-old girl who was at the center of the original Justice Department investigation. Per the Independent, the girl was there for “the enjoyment of Gaetz.”
November 5, 2024: Matt Gaetz is re-elected to represent Florida’s first congressional district in the House of Representatives.
November 13, 2024: President-elect Donald Trump nominates Matt Gaetz for attorney general of the United States. Gaetz resigns from the House of Representatives, effective immediately.
The nomination comes days before the House Ethics Committee had been prepared to release the findings from their investigation into the congressman. As he is no longer a member of the House, it becomes unclear whether the Ethics Committee’s report will ever be published.
November 18, 2024: A lawyer for two of the women who claim Gaetz paid them for sex says one of the women said she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl at a party, according to the New York Times.
November 20, 2024: ABC reports that House Democrats are pushing the Ethics Committee to release its findings from the investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Gaetz. The Committee is apparently deadlocked along party lines as to whether to publish.
November 21, 2024: Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration for attorney general. In a statement posted to X, Gaetz says he made his decision after “excellent meetings with senators,” where he received “thoughtful feedback” on his nomination.
