(Newsweek) The attorney for two women accusing former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz with paying them for sex told Newsweek that his clients do not want to testify during the Senate‘s confirmation process.
Florida attorney Joel Leppard told Newsweek that his clients have already testified in front of the House Ethics Committee and that they are not looking to do so more publicly in front of the Senate during Gaetz’s confirmation process. The former representative was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to become Attorney General. Leppard said his clients will only testify “if they are required to do so.”
“They do not want to testify on the floor. They do not want their identities to be known,” Leppard said. “They want to move on with their lives and for the American public to make the decision.”
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Gaetz for comment.
The probe stems from accusations that Gaetz was involved in recruiting women online for sex, including a 17-year-old girl. The Department of Justice (DOJ) last year told Gaetz that he would not face federal sex-trafficking charges.
Leppard said one of his clients witnessed Gaetz having sex with another woman who was then 17 years old by the pool area at a house party in Florida.
The then-17-year-old victim and one of Leppard’s clients were friends from high school and are still friends, he said. Leppard’s two clients met at one of Gaetz’s parties in 2017. They moved out of Orlando together to “get away.”
The attorney’s two clients have said they also were paid for sex with Gaetz. The House Ethics Committee put payments on the screen and asked them about it during their testimony.
“One client detailed over $6,000 in payments directly from Representative Gaetz,” Leppard said. “For the other client, it was over $4,000”
Leppard said the payments for one woman were from Paypal “early on” and “later he went on to Venmo.”
“I have no idea why that took place,” Leppard said. “I think a lot of people switched to Venmo.”
