Women testified to House panel that they were paid for sexual favours by Gaetz, lawyer says
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Two women testified to the House Ethics Committee that they were paid for "sexual favours" by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, a lawyer for the two women told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday.
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Two women testified to the House Ethics Committee that they were paid for “sexual favours” by former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, a lawyer for the two women told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday.
Additionally, one of the women testified to the congressional panel that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with her then-underage friend in 2017, the lawyer, Joel Leppard, said on “OutFront.” CNN reported that detail Friday.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Leppard said it was his client’s testimony that she did not believe Gaetz knew at the time that her friend was underage.
The ethics probe was effectively ended when Gaetz immediately resigned from Congress after Trump announced the Florida Republican was the president-elect’s pick to lead the Department of Justice. However, the panel is still weighing whether to publicly release a report on its probe and is scheduled to meet Wednesday.
The committee also heard from the formerly underage woman herself, who testified that Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17, according to two sources familiar with the congressional investigation.
One of Leppard’s clients was a friend to the then-minor from when they were both in high school, the lawyer said Monday.