A lawyer representing two women who were witnesses in the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz is calling for the release of the committee’s report, telling ABC News that one of his clients testified that he witnessed the Florida congressman. sex with a minor.
“My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that he saw Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor,” Florida attorney Joel Leppard told ABC News.
“As the Senate considers the nomination of former Rep. Gaetz for attorney general, several questions require answers,” Leppard said. “What if multiple credible witnesses provided evidence of conduct that would constitute serious criminal offenses?”
“Democracy requires transparency. Release the Gaetz Ethics report,” said Leppard, who represents two women who sat to testify behind closed doors at the commission this summer.
Gaetz, who was chosen this week by President-elect Donald Trump act as his general attorneyhe has long denied any wrongdoing, including having an inappropriate relationship with a minor. Department of Justice Gaetz refused to pay last year, after years of investigating the allegations.
In a statement issued in response to Leppard’s claim, a Gaetz spokesperson said, “Merrick Garland’s DOJ cleared Matt Gaetz and did not charge him. Are you alleging that Garland is part of a cover-up?”
The two witnesses, who ABC News is not naming, allegedly accompanied the congressman to the parties. Gaetz’s one-time friend Joel Greenberg is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence reach an agreement With prosecutors in May 2021, he pleaded guilty to several federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a woman when she was a minor and other “adult men” who had sex with her when she was a minor.
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida speaks during day three of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc., July 17, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
According to Greenberg’s plea agreement, the woman, who ABC News is not identifying, met Greenberg online in 2017 and began meeting her at hotels and homes in the Middle District of Florida, where she “introduced the minor to other adult men who became involved. Middle District of Florida commercial sexual acts with the minor,” court documents said.
At the time, the minor “represented himself as an adult” on the website where he met Greenberg — and according to his plea agreement, he admits that he “acted without regard to the fact that the minor was under the age of 18 when he engaged in commercial sex acts” and “reasonably he had the opportunity” when he was a minor.
Leppard’s statement came after attorney John Clune, who represents the former juvenile at the center of the investigation, called for the Ethics Commission’s report to be released Thursday.
“The appointment of Mr. Gaetz as attorney general is a perverse development in a truly murky series of events. We would welcome the immediate release of the House Ethics Committee’s report. He was a high school student and there were witnesses,” Clune said in a statement. .
The woman, now in her 20s, testified before the House Ethics Committee, a former congresswoman from Florida he had sex with her when he was 17 and he was in Congress, ABC News previously reported.
In a statement responding to that report, Gaetz said, “These allegations are fabricated and would constitute false testimony to Congress. After three years of criminal investigation this false comment should be viewed with great skepticism.”
The Justice Department spent years investigating allegations against Gaetzi, including obstruction of justice charges, before announcing last year that it would not press charges against Gaetzi.
Gaetz has long denied wrongdoing in connection with the Justice Department investigation. In September, he gave detailed answers to questions sent by the House Ethics Committee, which was investigating allegations of alleged sexual misconduct and illegal drug use.
“Your September 4th correspondence asks if I have had sexual activity with anyone under the age of 18. The answer to this question is definitely no. You can apply this answer to all versions of this question, in all forums,” Gaetz said. statement posted on his social media account.
Gaetz resigned from the House this week after being tapped to lead Trump’s Justice Department, ending what sources say was entering the final stages of a House Ethics Committee investigation into ABC News. Before Gaetz resigned, the commission had planned to meet this week to consider whether to release a report on the investigation, and it was unclear whether the report would see the light of day.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that he does not believe the House Ethics Committee should release the findings of its investigation into Gaetz now that the Florida Republican is no longer a member of Congress.
“I think it’s very important to maintain the House’s tradition of not issuing ethics reports on people who are not members of Congress. I think it would open Pandora’s box,” he said.
Leppard told ABC News that he supports the release of the report.
“What if an affidavit contained specific conduct that would disqualify anyone from serving as our nation’s chief law enforcement officer?” The attorney said in a statement to ABC News.
