US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Justice Department, Matt Gaetz, paid a woman for sex at a small invitation-only party in Florida in 2017 while he was a member of the US House of Representatives. he said on Monday.
In an interview, Joel Leppard said the woman saw Gaetz having sex with her then 17-year-old friend at the same invite-only party in Orlando.
Leppard told House Ethics Committee investigators that two women, whom NBC News did not name, that Gaetz had paid them for sex on several occasions and that they believe the committee’s report on Gaetz was made public.
“They want the American people to know the truth, and they are telling the truth.”
Minutes after Leppard arrived at the party in Orlando, he introduced one of his clients, who was 19 at the time, to Gaetz, who then lifted him upstairs to have sex with her. In the evening, as he was walking outside to go to the pool area, he said he saw Gaetz and his younger girlfriend having sex against the game table, Leppard said.
“It’s a very vivid memory of him,” he said.
Leppard said his client made that point this spring in an interview with the House Ethics Committee, which has been investigating Gaetz since 2021. The Justice Department also investigated Gaetz for allegedly sex-trafficking a 17-year-old girl; he not charged with any crime.
Leppard’s client testified that Gaetz did not think he knew the girl was a minor. He added that when Gaetz found out, he “stopped having sex” and “didn’t resume until he turned 18” in December 2017.
Leppard said his client participated in and monitored a call recorded by the FBI at Gaetz’s request in 2020 as part of a Justice Department investigation, but prosecutors ultimately declined to press charges. The Ministry of Justice and the FBI declined to comment.
Gaetz, 42, has long denied the allegations, claiming he was the target of an extortion plot. Representatives for Gaetz declined to answer detailed questions about Leppard’s allegations, but pointed NBC News to a statement from Trump’s transition team.
Gaetz, a former Republican U.S. representative from Florida, resigned from Congress last week After Trump announced his plans to run for attorney general, who oversees the Justice Department.
In a statement Monday, Trump’s transition spokesman, Alex Pfeiffer, called the allegations “baseless” and said they were intended to “disrupt the second Trump administration.”
“Matt Gaetz will be the next attorney general. He is the right man for the job and will put an end to the weaponization of our justice system,” Pfeiffer said.
Leppard shared new details about his clients’ allegations as Gaetz faces a tough road to Senate confirmation.
Leppard said his clients were subpoenaed to testify before the House Ethics Committee and provided extensive documents, including hundreds of text messages between them and Gaetz. NBC News has reviewed a copy of the subpoena. The Ethics Committee declined to comment.
Leppard accused Gaetz of using the phrase “party favor” as code for drugs in text messages. His clients said there were drugs at the parties, mostly marijuana, but also ecstasy.
It “seemed significant” to the committee, Leppard said, adding that committee members were concerned about payments for illegal drug use and sex.
On at least two occasions, Leppard said, his clients had sex with Gaetz outside of Florida. Gaetz flew Leppard’s clients to New York in 2019 and to 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, Leppard said.
The bipartisan Ethics Committee, which was replaced when Gaetz resigned, has not made public the report detailing its years-long investigation. Monday, committee confirmed that he would meet on Tuesday to discuss the report.
Leppard said he was speaking on behalf of his clients, who wanted the committee to release the report so they wouldn’t have to testify publicly. Leppard said the two women are private people with no political leanings and no motivation to oust Gaetz.
“They don’t have a dog in the fight,” he said. “They want to be left out.”