New reporting from The New York Times just added heartbreaking, human context to the Matt Gaetz scandal—context that reveals far more about our political system than it does about one congressman.
The teenager at the center of this case wasn’t some abstract figure in a congressional ethics report.
She was 17 years old, experiencing homelessness with her parent, hungry, and trying to save enough money to get braces. She was a kid navigating instability and poverty—the kind of circumstances that make young people especially vulnerable to adults with power, money, and influence.
According to the Times, it was during this time of desperation that Matt Gaetz—then a sitting member of Congress—entered her life.
And we already know from the House Ethics Committee’s own findings that there was “substantial evidence” Gaetz paid women for sex, used illegal drugs, and engaged in conduct that violated federal law and House rules. But this new reporting pulls the camera back and shows the full picture: not just misconduct, but the imbalance of power that enabled it.
A vulnerable teenager.
A member of Congress.
And a system that looks the other way when the powerful are the ones exploiting the powerless.
Here’s the part that should stop every reader cold: Donald Trump wanted Matt Gaetz as his Attorney General.
The nation’s chief law enforcement officer.
The person overseeing prosecutions of crimes involving exploitation of minors.
The person deciding who gets charged and who gets a pass.
In my 15 years as a public defender, I have represented people who were prosecuted aggressively for far less. They don’t get the benefit of the doubt. They don’t get PR teams. They don’t get political insulation. They get handcuffs, court dates, and prison sentences.
Gaetz has faced none of that.
And that is the story—not the salacious details, but the two-tiered system of justice that protects the connected and punishes the poor.
This case is a reminder of something I have seen my entire career:
The most powerful people fail the most vulnerable ones.
And unless we talk about these power dynamics out loud—unless we demand real accountability—they will keep failing them.
Thank you for being here. I’m keeping up the fight alongside you.
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