Woman told House Ethics Committee she saw Gaetz have sex with a minor, lawyer says
By Casey Gannon and Kaanita Iyer, CNN
(CNN) — The attorney who represents two women who were witnesses in the House Ethics Committee probe into former congressman Matt Gaetz said Friday that one of his clients told the panel she saw the congressman having sex with a minor.
“My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor,” said attorney Joel Leppard, whose clients sat for closed-door testimony before the committee as part of the now-dropped investigation into the Florida Republican.
The committee had been probing allegations that Gaetz may have “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.” Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including ever having sex with a minor or paying for sex.
Asked Friday about the testimony, first reported on by ABC News, a spokesperson for Gaetz told CNN that “Merrick Garland’s DOJ cleared Matt Gaetz and didn’t charge him.”
The Department of Justice had separately pursued a yearslong sex-crimes investigation into Gaetz but ultimately decided last year not to pursue criminal charges against him.
The investigations have drawn renewed attention in recent days after President-elect Donald Trump earlier this week announced his intention to nominate Gaetz to serve as attorney general in his incoming administration.
If approved for the role by the Senate, Gaetz would take over DOJ, the nation’s top law enforcement agency, and be in control of the investigative files that detail the evidence the FBI uncovered in the sex trafficking investigation against him.
The Justice Department deemed the files too sensitive to release even to the House Ethics Committee.
Gaetz’s resignation from Congress to prepare for the confirmation process effectively ended the congressional investigation, as the panel only has jurisdiction over a member when they are serving in Congress.
Democrats immediately began calling for the release of the committee’s long-awaited findings – a call that Leppard echoed Friday, arguing that “democracy demands transparency.”
Late Thursday, Republicans canceled a scheduled Friday meeting with Democrats on the panel that was expected to address the report, sources told CNN. And House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he does not think the panel’s findings should be released and that he was “going to strongly request” the committee not do so.
Gaetz is just one of a number of provocative picks that Trump has made for his Cabinet, including veteran-turned-Fox News host Pete Hegseth, whose nomination is already facing questions of viability from the president-elect’s transition team.
CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Annie Grayer, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox contributed to this report.
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