A hacker accessed damaging testimony about attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz, potentially compromising his confirmation and President-elect Donald Trump's agenda to "drain the swamp."  

The exposed documents included testimony from a woman who claims she had sex with Gaetz when she was 17.

The files were part of a defamation lawsuit against Gaetz's former friend Joel Greenberg. Gaetz is not a party to the lawsuit, which was field by an associate of his, Christopher Dorworth.

Testimony in Gaetz case exposed

Lawyers involved in the suit were informed that an unauthorized person going by "Altam Beezley" accessed exhibits in the case, including depositions from the woman who says she had sex with Gaetz when she was underage, and another woman who said she witnessed the encounter.

The sexual misconduct accusations against Gaetz are at the center of a political firestorm after President-elect Trump nominated Gaetz to lead the Justice Department, which declined to charge Gaetz after investigating him for years.

Pressure has mounted on the House Ethics Committee to release its own findings into Gaetz, who resigned from Congress last week after Trump picked him to be attorney general.

Gaetz has said he is the target of a smear campaign involving Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector who is serving 11 years in prison for recruiting women and one underage girl for sex.

Greenberg's plea deal said that the girl "represented that she was an adult" but Greenberg acted in "reckless disregard" and had a "reasonable opportunity" to observe that she was a minor.

Trump standing by him

The House Ethics Committee no longer has jurisdiction over Gaetz after his resignation. But lawmakers in both parties have said the committee's report is necessary to fully vet Gaetz for the powerful position he seeks.

A Trump transition spokesperson dismissed the "baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration,” adding that the Justice Department “investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing.”

Trump has made it clear that he expects Gaetz, a Trump loyalist, to crack down on the Justice Department, which has aggressively targeted Trump and his supporters for years. Gaetz is arguably the most controversial of Trump's Cabinet nominees, which include several unconventional picks meant to shake up the status quo.

While not popular on the Hill, Gaetz has received support from House and Senate leaders allied with Trump, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who has pushed against releasing the Ethics report.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who famously defended Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh against sexual assault accusations during his confirmation battle, urged Republicans to suspend judgment in the Gaetz controversy.

“After years of being investigated by the Department of Justice, no charges were brought against Matt Gaetz. This is something we should all remember,” Graham said in a statement.