A woman told the House Ethics Committee that she saw former Florida congressman and Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Attorney General Matt Gaetz “having sex with a minor” at a party in 2017, her lawyer said.
The woman’s attorney, Joel Leppard, said the woman testified before the House committee in April 2024, according to NBC News. “My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Representative Gaetz having sex with a minor at a house party in Orlando in 2017,” Leppard said.
Gaetz was the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use. The Justice Department closed its investigation into sex trafficking and obstruction charges against Gaetz last year without filing charges against the Florida Republican. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing in both investigations.
A spokesperson for Gaetz pointed to the closed Justice Department investigation when NBC News reached out for comment. “Merrick Garland’s DOJ has cleared Matt Gaetz and has not charged him,” the spokesperson said. “Are you saying Garland is part of a cover-up?”
Gaetz abruptly resigned from the House of Representatives on Wednesday, hours after Trump announced he had chosen the Florida Republican as his attorney general. Gaetz’s resignation means the House Ethics Committee, which was expected to release the findings of its own investigation on Friday, no longer had jurisdiction to investigate him.
Whether the commission’s report ever sees the light of day is now a matter of intense debate. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he will “strongly urge” the committee not to release the document. But Senate Democrats and some Republicans have said they still want to see the commission’s findings.
Leppard has also called for the release of the report.
“The American people deserve to know the truth about the person who will become the nation’s top law enforcement officer,” he told NBC News.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
