An attorney representing two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee said former Representative Matt Gaetz engaged in sexual activity with both of them and witnessed him having sex with a third woman who was underage.
“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,” Florida attorney Joel Leppard said in an interview with ABC News.
The women testified that Gaetz repeatedly paid them via Venmo transactions for sexual activity, and those transactions were obtained by the committee, as stated by Leppard.
“The House was very clear about that and went through each. They essentially put the Venmo payments on the screen and asked about them. And my clients repeatedly testified, ‘What was this payment for?’ ‘That was for sex,’” Leppard said.
Leppard stated that his clients testified that they attended parties from 2017 to January 2019 where Gaetz was present, and several incidents of sexual activity and drug use occurred. Additionally, the women alleged that Gaetz was observed engaging in sexual activity with a 17-year-old girl against a game table at a July 2017 party.
Gaetz has denied all the allegations against him.
The recent news comes amidst ongoing pressure from Senate Republicans on House Speaker Mike Johnson to release the report on Gaetz by the House Ethics Committee. This pressure stems from the Senate’s deliberations on whether to confirm Gaetz as Attorney General. Last week, Johnson reiterated his opposition to releasing the report.
“The rules of the House has always been that a former member is beyond the jurisdiction of the ethics committee,” Johnson said. “I’m going to request, strongly request, that the Ethics Committee not issue the report.”
According to a report from Axios, President-elect Donald Trump is personally contacting senators to urge them to confirm Gaetz.
He clearly wants Matt Gaetz,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told Axios. “He believes Matt Gaetz is the one person who will have the fearlessness and ferociousness, really, to do what needs doing at the Department of Justice.”
