Matt Gaetz allegedly paid an adult woman for sex in 2017, attorney says

Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, 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. 

In an interview, Joel Leppard said the woman also said she saw Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17 at the time, at the same invitation-only party in Orlando. 

Leppard said two women he represents, whom NBC News is not naming, 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.

“They want the American people to know the truth and that they are speaking the truth,” he said.

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.

“This is a very vivid memory that she has,” he said.

Leppard said his client recounted it this spring in an interview with the House Ethics Committee, which had been investigating Gaetz off and on since 2021. The Justice Department also investigated Gaetz over sex-trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl; he was not charged with any crime. 

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Leppard’s client testified that she did not think Gaetz knew the girl was a minor, he said. 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 that his client participated in a recorded call at the request of and monitored by the FBI with Gaetz in 2020 as part of a Justice Department investigation but that prosecutors ultimately declined to bring charges. The Justice Department 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 plans to nominate him for attorney general, overseeing the Justice Department.

In a statement Monday, 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.

Leppard shared new details about his clients’ claims as Gaetz faces a rocky path to his Senate confirmation.

Leppard said his clients were subpoenaed to testify before the House Ethics Committee and provided extensive documentation, including hundreds of text messages between them and Gaetz. NBC News reviewed a copy of the subpoena. The Ethics Committee declined to comment. 

Leppard accused Gaetz of using 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.

That “seemed to matter” to the committee, Leppard said, adding that committee members were concerned about illegal drug use and payments for sex.

On at least two occasions, Leppard said, his clients had sex with Gaetz outside Florida. Gaetz flew Leppard’s clients 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, Leppard said.

The bipartisan Ethics Committee, which lost jurisdiction over Gaetz when he resigned, has not publicly released a report detailing its investigation, which has been ongoing for several years. On Monday, the committee confirmed it would meet Wednesday to discuss the report.

Leppard said he is speaking out on behalf of his clients who want the committee to release the report to avoid having to testify publicly. The two women are private people, who have no political leanings and no motivation to take down Gaetz, Leppard said. 

“They don’t have a dog in the fight,” he said. “They want to be left out.”