The attorney who represents two women who were witnesses in a House Ethics Committee probe into former Congressman Matt Gaetz said on Friday that one of his clients told the panel she saw him having sex with a minor.
“My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor,” attorney Joel Leppard, whose clients sat for closed-door testimony before the committee, shared with CNN. That investigation has now been dropped.
The testimony from Leppard’s client was first reported on by ABC News days after Gaetz was tapped by Trump to serve as his attorney general.
“As the Senate considers former Rep. Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, several questions demand answers,” Leppard told ABC News on Friday. “What if multiple credible witnesses provided evidence of behavior that would constitute serious criminal violations?”
A spokesperson for Gaetz, who was asked about the testimony, told CNN that “Merrick Garland’s DOJ cleared Matt Gaetz and didn’t charge him.”
The committee to which Leppard’s client spoke before had been probing the allegations that Gaetz had allegedly “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.”
Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, denying the allegations.
Separate from the House probe, the Department of Justice had been pursuing a yearslong sex crimes investigation into Gaetz. However, last year, that investigation resulted in the decision not to pursue criminal charges.
The House probe was also effectively ended after Gaetz resigned from Congress following his selection to serve as the attorney general in his incoming administration. The panel only has authority over a member if they are currently serving.
Democrats have called for the release of the committee’s findings, something Leppard also said should be done, noting that “democracy demands transparency.”
However, that doesn’t seem likely, as Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he does not think the panel’s findings should be released. He also said he is going to “strongly request” the committee not do so.
Still, it remains to be seen if Gaetz will be appointed as the attorney general, as a recent report from NBC News found that a majority of Senate Republicans doubt Gaetz will be confirmed as the next attorney general.
That report cited several anonymous sources familiar with the matter, who said that more than half of Senate Republicans, including some in senior leadership positions, don’t think there is a path where he gets confirmed.