As the House Ethics Committee faces increasing pressure to release its report on Matt Gaetz, a lawyer for two women who testified before the panel provided new details this week about their allegations against the former congressman.
Gaetz, whom President-elect Donald Trump has picked to lead the Justice Department in his incoming administration, paid one of the women for sex at an invitation-only house party in Orlando, Florida, in 2017, her lawyer, Joel Leppard, told NBC News. The woman also said she saw Gaetz having sex with her 17-year-old friend at that party, Leppard said. Gaetz was a member of the House at the time, representing Florida, where prostitution is illegal.
According to Leppard, the woman, who was 19 at the time, was introduced to Gaetz almost immediately after arriving at the party and then taken upstairs to have sex with him. Later on in the evening, she saw Gaetz and her minor friend having sex against a game table, Leppard said.
The woman told the committee that she did not think Gaetz knew that her friend was a minor, Leppard said, adding that Gaetz “stopped their sexual relationship” when he found out and “did not resume it until after she turned 18” in late 2017.
The woman told the committee earlier this year about the alleged encounter Gaetz had with her friend at the party, Leppard said. “This is a very vivid memory that she has,” he added.








