Former Rep. Matt Gaetz allegedly flew 2 women to New York, paid them for sex: Attorney

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, allegedly paid for two women in 2019 to travel to New York to have sex, watch his appearance on Fox News, and attend the Broadway show "Pretty Woman," an attorney for the women told ABC News.

In an interview with ABC News' Juju Chang, Florida attorney Joel Leppard revealed new details regarding his clients' closed-door testimony before the private bipartisan committee -- including that his clients told congressional investigators that Gaetz paid for them to travel across state lines to have sex on at least two occasions.

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The attorney also said that the women provided the committee with text messages they allegedly exchanged with Gaetz about the acquisition of drugs and payments that the attorney said were, in part, for sex.

Gaetz, who President-elect Donald Trump selected last week to serve as his attorney general, has denied any wrongdoing. The Justice Department declined to charge Gaetz last year after a yearslong investigation into the allegations, and members of the House Ethics Committee are weighing releasing a report summarizing the findings of their own investigation into Gaetz, after he resigned from Congress following Trump's announcement.

"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," Trump transition spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer told ABC News regarding all the allegations involving Gaetz.

"These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration. The Biden Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing," Pfeiffer said of the allegations and the DOJ's decision not to bring charges, which the Justice Department began investigating during the first Trump administration.

Leppard described to ABC News the trip to New York that he says his clients testified Gaetz paid for in January 2019.

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"They testified that they met up with Matt Gaetz in New York in January of 2019 for his appearance on Fox News ... Mr. Gates paid them for the tickets to come to New York for the trip," Leppard told Chang. "They were asked to go and have sex with Rep. Gaetz, and then they could go out and see a show that they wanted to see that night. So essentially, take care of things, and then later on, they could have their fun."

According to Leppard, his clients told the Ethics Committee that Gaetz paid for them to travel to New York in January 2019 for sex during a trip where the then-congressman appeared on the Fox News talk show "Outnumbered."

Gaetz -- who was already allegedly with another woman in New York -- brought the women to visit Fox News studios, have dinner, and then to see the play "Pretty Woman," a show about a wealthy businessman who falls in love with a prostitute, the attorney said.

ABC News independently confirmed that Gaetz appeared in studio on Fox News on Jan. 4, 2019, a day the attorney said his clients testified that they spent time with Gaetz, and that the show "Pretty Woman" was running on Broadway at the time.

"Their testimony is that Rep. Gaetz took them across state lines for the purpose of having sex and paid them for that?" Chang asked.

"That's correct," Leppard replied.

Summarizing what his clients told the House Ethics Committee, Leppard told ABC News that Gaetz allegedly had sex with his clients -- who were adults at the time -- on approximately 10 to 15 occasions, primarily during drug-fueled parties or smaller occasions like private trips to New York or the Bahamas, and were paid, on many of those occasions, for sex by the then-congressman.

"They did testify to the House that that was their understanding of the payments, that that's why they were there, to provide a good time, to have fun, be free and to have sex with the gentlemen who were present, including Rep. Gaetz," Leppard said.

According to Leppard, the men who attended the parties ranged in age from 30 to 50, while the women were between the ages of 19 and 21.

"Both of my clients testified that they had sex with Rep. Gaetz and that the payments they received from him were in part for sexual favors," Leppard said.

Leppard detailed that his clients testified that Gaetz also paid for them to travel to the Bahamas with other young women, including the woman who has alleged the then-congressman had sex with her when she was a minor.

"It was a vacation to the Bahamas, and they were my clients, the former minor, as well as a couple other females, and of course, the gentleman who were present," Leppard said, referencing the former 17-year-old who was over 18 by the time of the Bahamas trip.

The Bahamas trip had been part of the Justice Department's investigation into Gaetz, sources previously told ABC News, which ultimately did not result in charges against the congressman.

"They testified to Congress that the trip itself was payment," Leppard said, clarifying his clients were not monetarily compensated beyond their travel and expenses during that trip.

According to Leppard, the yearslong relationship with Gaetz has continued to weigh on his clients, who believe the information they have provided in hours of testimony across multiple investigations should come to light.

Leppard said the two women detailed to the House panel how they have spent years in counseling -- paid for by the Federal Bureau of Investigation -- following the investigation.

"The House asked, 'Do you believe that you're a victim of Matt Gaetz?" Leppard said. "My client paused and said, 'That's a difficult question for me to ask,' and then she started crying, and she basically said that she has been going through counseling."

"My clients have been receiving counseling services paid for by the FBI for years," Leppard said.

Leppard added that his clients say that their sexual interactions with Gaetz were fully consensual and that they voluntarily participated in the parties.

"They did testify that everything they did was consensual, that they were never forced to do anything," Leppard said. "They did testify that the drugs sometimes impaired their judgment, and that they were expected to do drugs, but then they were never forced to do drugs, but that the drugs made it easier to do what they were doing."

Leppard said his clients -- one of whom was a student at the time -- decided to attend the parties where they had sex with Gaetz and others in order to make enough money to pay rent.

"It was that kind of situation where they're literally, 'Hey, I got to make rent this month. Let's go out and go to some of these events,' and 'Here's how we're going to pay rent."

Leppard also said his clients provided the House Ethics Committee with text messages and reviewed Venmo records which they said documented Gaetz's alleged payments for sex and coded requests for illicit drugs, including marijuana and MDMA, which Gaetz and his one-time friend Joel Greenberg referenced in messages as "vitamins" or "party favors."

"The party favors, of course, meant MDMA or Molly, which was consumed at every one of these events," Leppard said.

"[Gaetz] would ask using terms like 'vitamins,' or his favorite term was 'party favors.' So he might say, 'Who's bringing the party favors' ... or 'Make sure we have party favors,'" the attorney said.

Greenberg is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence after reaching a deal with prosecutors in May 2021 in which he pleaded guilty to multiple federal crimes including sex trafficking of a woman when she was a minor and introducing her to other "adult men" who also had sex with her when she was underage.

Leppard's client told House investigations that taking MDMA or ecstasy was "more or less an expectation" for participants at the sex parties, though she did not directly see Gaetz take ecstasy, the attorney said.

"She did testify that she saw Rep. Gaetz appearing to be under the effects of drugs, and that she witnessed him, I think, at times, consuming marijuana," Leppard said.

According to Leppard, both his clients were paid to entertain and have sex with the attendees of the parties.

"They got together to party, to take drugs and have sex, essentially," Leppard said.

Leppard said that the payments from Gaetz ranged between $200 and $500 and were labeled as nondescript purchases, such as gas or hotel trips. The women would occasionally have sex without payment, instances that Gaetz or Greenberg requested by asking for a "Customer Appreciation Week."

According to Leppard, both his clients confirmed to the House Ethics Committee that the payments were in exchange for sexual favors.

"The House was very clear about that and went through each. They essentially put the Venmo payments on the screen and asked about them. And my clients repeatedly testified, 'What was this payment for?' 'That was for sex,'" Leppard said.

Leppard emphasized that both women have spoken with investigators -- during both the House investigation and Department of Justice probe -- for years and denied that their allegations are in any way politically motivated.

"Now that they've been through all that, they don't want to go through this again, and now that it's considered for Rep. Gaetz to be the most powerful law enforcement officer in the land, I think that that's relevant information for the American people to consider," Leppard said.