Two women questioned by the House Ethics Committee about former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be attorney general, testified that Gaetz paid them directly and repeatedly in Venmo transactions “for sex,” and that those transactions were obtained by the committee, an attorney for the women told CBS News. The attorney, Joel Leppard, also said the women testified that Gaetz asked via text messages for “gifts” and “vitamins” at upcoming parties, which was considered code for drugs.
Leppard, who is based in Orlando, said his clients reported attending parties from 2017 to January 2019 where Gaetz was present and sex and drug use occurred. In an interview Monday with CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, Leppard said one of his clients testified before the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl against a gaming table at a party in July 2017. Gaetz was sworn into Congress in January 2017, so all of the events alleged by the women took place then that he was a member of the House.
Trump transition team officials did not respond to requests for comment Monday. A source close to Gaetz’s legal position questioned the women’s credibility and argued that their memories would not have stood up to cross-examination in court, had it come to that.
Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing, including having sex with a minor, blasted the commission’s investigation into him and on Thursday called testimony about him a “false defamation.”
Gaetz’s conduct was also investigated by federal prosecutors, but they ended the investigation in 2023. without administration fees.
As the House Ethics Committee considers whether to release its report, which investigated allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, illegal drug use and corruption, Leppard said his clients wanted the public to know they were telling the truth.
One of his clients said in a text to Leppard: “No matter how many times he tries to distract from the truth, the public deserves to know that what we all experienced was real and s is actually produced. »
“My clients are not political; they didn’t vote in the last two elections – they don’t care one way or the other,” Leppard told Garrett. “But they want the public to know that they are not lying. They did not come forward voluntarily – they have never spoken to anyone without the force of a subpoena.”
He continued: “And if the American people knew that, then they could decide whether this is the person they want to be the next attorney general.”
One of Leppard’s clients is among at least four women who told the committee they were paid to attend drug and sex parties where Gaetz was present, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Her account corroborates the testimony of the then-minor, who told the committee she had sex with Gaetz when she was 17.
At the July 2017 party where her client claims this happened, Leppard said she and others were “at the party in order to provide entertainment, to be happy, to be alive and offer sexual favors to the gentlemen present.”
“They were expected to have sex,” Leppard said. His clients testified about these parties. “They testified in the House that — and the House actually had his Venmo, PayPal, transactions from Rep. Gaetz.”
Leppard said the House panel asked the women about Gaetz’s PayPal and Venmo transactions.
“‘Why was that? Why was that?'” Leppard told his customers.
“’It was for sex,’” they replied. “‘It was for sex. It was for sex.'”
Leppard said payments are usually between $200 and $500 at a time.
He said his clients also testified that sometimes someone other than Gaetz made a payment on his behalf. On at least one occasion, according to Leppard, it was Nestor Galbana Cuban immigrant close to Gaetz and whom Gaetz called his “son.” He said other payments on Gaetz’s behalf were made by Gaetz’s associate. Joel Greenbergwho was convicted in 2022 of sex trafficking of a minor and other crimes.
Leppard said her client, who said she saw Gaetz having sex with the 17-year-old girl, also told the panel that she did not believe Gaetz was aware of her age at the time.
“My client, at least, testified that he didn’t know his age,” Leppard said.
Leppard’s client testified that she knew the 17-year-old girl and her age, and said the two had attended high school together.
Her client testified that she had sex with Gaetz after she arrived at the July 2017 house party. Later during the party, her client testified that she was walking outside when she saw Gaetz doing to sleep with his 17-year-old friend against the card table.
Leppard said one of his clients provided the committee with more than 100 texts involving Gaetz. Often, Leppard said, texts provided by his client showed Gaetz would need to be reminded to pay.
“There were a lot of text messages asking for payment, like, ‘Hey, when are you going to pay me?'” Leppard said. “Or, ‘I don’t want to be that girl, but can you please go ahead and pay me what we agreed?’ Text messages like this were of most interest to the House when Rep. Gaetz apparently requested the presence of drugs.
“So in my job as a criminal defense attorney, no one ever asks, ‘Can you give me some drugs, please?'” Leppard said. “They usually use code words. And so Rep. Gaetz was using terms like, ‘Can you make sure there are party favors?’ Or: “Who takes care of the gifts?” He used the term “gift mecca” when referring to another person who brought gifts. He also used the term “vitamins,” I believe.
Yet Leppard’s clients told the House panel that they could not specifically recall whether they saw Gaetz use marijuana or other drugs.
The texts also included “lots of positive emojis,” Leppard said, like hearts, and “positive statements” between Gaetz, his customers and others. Leppard called the relationship with Gaetz complicated, but also a friendship, and he also told Garrett that his clients knew Gaetz’s girlfriend at the time.
“At least one of my clients testified that, in a sense, they were required to please Mr. Gaetz before going out and attending their [Electronic Dance Music] ” Leppard said of an alleged occasion about which his client testified. “And it was something that the House was particularly interested in. Rep. Gaetz’s girlfriend texted them, and they basically went about their tasks, and later went to see their show. »
Leppard said his clients have “been through hardships” and fear that if they testify before the Senate or elsewhere publicly, “they won’t be safe in their jobs.”
The House Ethics Committee had planned to vote Friday, November 15, when his report was released, but the meeting was canceled after Trump announced Wednesday his intention to name Gaetzthen a few hours later, the Florida Republican abruptly resigned from Congress. The panel is now defined meet up on Wednesdaytwo sources told CBS News.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he would “strongly request” that the House Ethics Committee withhold the report on its investigation of Gaetz. The committee has equal representation among Democrats and Republicans – five Democrats and five Republicans.
Democratic and Republican senators who would vote on Gaetz’s confirmation as attorney general said they wanted access to the ethics committee’s report.
