Two women testified before the House Ethics Committee that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) paid them for sex, an attorney revealed to ABC News on Monday.
Florida attorney Joel Leppard told the network that his two clients were “very clear” to the committee that Gaetz, now President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general, paid them for sex and shared evidence of Venmo payments he made to them.
The remarks from Leppard come a few days after he told media outlets that one of those clients also testified that she witnessed Gaetz, now 42, having sex with her 17-year-old friend at a party seven years ago.
“She testified [that] in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Rep. Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17,” he reiterated to ABC News on Monday.
Gaetz had been sworn in as a member of Congress earlier that year.
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“Her understanding was that Matt Gaetz did not know that she was a minor and that when he learned that she was a minor, that he broke off things and did not continue a sexual relationship until she turned 18,” Leppard continued.
Leppard’s claims come as the committee weighs releasing its ethics report on Gaetz, whom the committee has been investigating over allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. When Gaetz resigned from the House last week, saying he was doing so to allow his replacement to be picked in time for the next Congress, the committee was forced to cease its investigation two days before a scheduled vote on releasing its report.
A representative of Gaetz deferred comment to Trump transition team spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer, who denied the attorney’s accusations.
“These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration,” the statement read in part.
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Leppard joined several top lawmakers in calling for the House Ethics Committee to release its report on Gaetz, even though he’s no longer in office. Despite protestations from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), there is precedent for releasing ethics reports in such circumstances.
“As the Senate considers former Rep. Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, several questions demand answers,” Leppard said. “What if multiple credible witnesses provided evidence of behavior that would constitute serious criminal violations?”
The ethics committee plans to meet Wednesday to discuss its Gaetz report, several news outlets reported.