Matt Gaetz, who was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to head the Justice Department, paid a woman for sex at a small invite-only party in Florida, where prostitution is illegal, in 2017 while he was a member of the House of Representatives. , was a female lawyer. he told NBC News on Monday.
Joel Leppard said in an interview that the woman said she saw Gaetz having sex with her then-17-year-old friend at the same invitation-only party in Orlando.
Leppard said two women acting anonymously on his behalf told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on several occasions, and that the same panel regarding Gaetz told NBC News that two women acting anonymously on his behalf told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on several occasions. He said he believed the report of the meeting should be made public.
“They want the American people to know the truth and they want them to be telling the truth,” he said.
Leppard said that within minutes of arriving at the Orlando party, one of her customers, who was 19 at the time, was introduced to Gaetz and taken upstairs to have sex with her. Later that night, as she walked outside to go to the pool area, Leppard said she saw Gates and an underage friend having sex over a gaming table.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Donald Trump and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines in August 2023.
“This is a very vivid memory of her,” he said.
Leppard said his client detailed that in an interview this spring with the House Ethics Committee, which has been investigating Gaetz on and off since 2021. The Justice Department also investigated Gaetz for sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl. He was not charged with any crime.
Leppard’s client testified that he did not believe Gaetz knew the girl was underage, she said. He added that when Gaetz found out, he “stopped the sexual relationship” and “did not resume the sexual relationship until she turned 18” around December 2017.
Leppard said his client participated in recorded calls with Gaetz that were monitored by the FBI in 2020 at the request of the FBI as part of a Justice Department investigation, but prosecutors ultimately declined to press charges. said. The Justice Department and FBI declined to comment.
Gates, 42, has long denied the charges, saying he was the target of an extortion plot. A representative for Gaetz declined to answer detailed questions about Leppard’s claims, but pointed NBC News to a statement from Trump’s transition team.
Gaetz, a former Republican congressman from Florida, resigned from Congress last week after President Trump announced plans to appoint him attorney general to oversee the Justice Department.
Alex Pfeiffer, Trump’s transition press secretary, said in a statement on Monday that the allegations were “baseless” and intended to “derail the second Trump administration.”
“Matt Gaetz will be our next Attorney General. He is the right person for this job and will end the weaponization of our justice system,” Pfeiffer said.
As Gates faces a difficult path to Senate confirmation, Leppard shared new details about his client’s claims.
Mr. Leppard said his clients were subpoenaed to testify before the House Ethics Committee and produced thousands of pages of documents, including hundreds of text messages with Mr. Gates. NBC News reviewed a copy of the subpoena. The Ethics Commission declined to comment.
Matt Gaetz worked at a private law firm before running for public office.
Leppard accused Gates of using the phrase “party favor” in text messages as code for drugs. He added that his clients said that in addition to ecstasy, drugs were also used at the parties, primarily marijuana.
That “seemed to be important” to the committee, Leppard said, adding that committee members were concerned about illegal drug use and payments for sex acts.
Leppard said his client had sex with Gaetz outside of Florida on at least two occasions. Leppard said Gates flew Leppard’s clients to New York City in 2019 and to the Bahamas in 2018, where they had sex with Gates. Leppard said the women were not paid for sex during the trip, but Gates paid for their flights, lodging and entertainment.
The bipartisan Ethics Commission, which lost jurisdiction over Gaetz after his resignation, has not released a report detailing its investigation, which has been ongoing for several years. On Monday, the committee confirmed it would meet on Wednesday to discuss the report.
Leppard said he is speaking on behalf of clients who want the commission to release its report to avoid public testimony. Leppard said the two women were civilians with no political leanings and had no motive to drag Gaetz down.
“They don’t have dogs in the fight,” he said. “They want to be left behind.”
This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:
Source link
