Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney General paid a woman for sex at a small, invitation-only party in Florida, where prostitution is illegal, in 2017 while he was a member of the House, the woman’s attorney said Monday.
Florida attorney Joel Leppard said in an interview that his client saw Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17 at the time, at the same invitation-only party in Orlando.
Leppard represents both of the women, who told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex several times and that they believe the committee’s report on Gaetz should be publicly released.
Within minutes of arriving at the party in Orlando, one of his clients, who was 19 at the time, was introduced to Gaetz and then taken upstairs to have sex with him, Leppard said. Later that evening, as she was walking outside to go to the pool area, she said, she saw Gaetz and her minor friend having sex against a game table, Leppard said.
Leppard said his client recounted the incident to the House Ethics Committee, and provided thousands of pages of documents, including hundreds of text messages between them and Gaetz.
- Leppard said his client did not think Gaetz knew the girl was underage. He added that Gaetz “stopped their sexual relationship” when he found out and “did not resume it until after she turned 18” around December 2017.
- Leppard said Gaetz used the phrase “party favors” in text messages as a code for drugs. His clients said there were drugs at the parties, mostly marijuana, as well as ecstasy, he added.
- On at least two occasions, Leppard said, his clients had sex with Gaetz outside Florida. Gaetz flew the women to New York City in 2019 and the Bahamas in 2018, where they had sex with him, Leppard said. The women were not paid for sex during the trips, but Gaetz paid for their flights, lodging and entertainment.
The bipartisan Committee seemed concerned about the use of illegal drugs and payments for sex, Leppard said.
The Ethics Committee on Monday confirmed a meeting on Wednesday about the release of the report.
Trump transition spokesman Alex Pfeiffer called the allegations “baseless” and said they were meant to “derail the second Trump administration.”
“Matt Gaetz will be the next Attorney General. He’s the right man for the job and will end the weaponization of our justice system,” Pfeiffer said.
