International Courant
An legal professional representing two girls who have been witnesses within the Home Ethics Committee’s investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz is looking for the committee’s report back to be launched, telling ABC Information that one in all his purchasers has testified that she was a witness of how the Florida congressman had intercourse with a minor.
“My consumer testified to the Home Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having intercourse with a minor,” Florida legal professional Joel Leppard informed ABC Information.
“Because the Senate considers the nomination of former lawmaker Gaetz as legal professional normal, a number of questions demand solutions,” Leppard stated. “What if a number of credible witnesses supplied proof of conduct that might represent severe felony wrongdoing?”
“Democracy calls for transparency. Launch the Gaetz Ethics report,” stated Leppard, who represents two girls who gave closed-door testimony earlier than the committee final summer season.
Gaetz, who President-elect Donald Trump picked this week to function his legal professional normal, has lengthy denied any wrongdoing, together with having an inappropriate relationship with a minor. The Justice Division declined to cost Gaetz final yr after a years-long investigation into the allegations.
In a press release issued in response to Leppard’s declare, a spokesperson for Gaetz stated: “Merrick Garland’s DOJ has cleared Matt Gaetz and never charged him. Are you alleging that Garland is a part of a cover-up?”
The 2 witnesses, whom ABC Information will not be naming, are each stated to have attended events with the congressman. Gaetz’s former boyfriend Joel Greenberg is at the moment serving an 11-year jail sentence after reaching a cope with prosecutors in Might 2021 by which he pleaded responsible to a number of federal crimes, together with intercourse trafficking the girl when she was a minor and introducing her to different “adults” males’ who additionally had intercourse together with her when she was a minor.
Florida Consultant Matt Gaetz speaks through the third day of the 2024 Republican Nationwide Conference on the Fiserv Discussion board in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP through Getty Photographs, FILE
Based on Greenberg’s plea settlement, the girl, who ABC Information will not be figuring out, met Greenberg on-line in 2017 and started assembly him at motels and houses within the Center District of Florida, the place he “launched the minor to different grownup males, who engaged in participating in industrial intercourse acts with the minor within the Center District of Florida,” in line with court docket paperwork.
On the time, the minor “represented that she was an grownup” on the web site the place she met Greenberg – and in line with his plea settlement, he acknowledges that he “acted recklessly with out regard to the truth that the minor was lower than 18 years outdated.” outdated when he engaged in industrial intercourse acts” and had a “cheap alternative to watch” that she was a minor.
Leppard’s assertion comes after legal professional John Clune, who represents the previous minor on the heart of the investigation, referred to as for the discharge of the Ethics Fee’s report on Thursday.
“The probably appointment of Mr. Gaetz as Legal professional Basic is a perverse growth in a really darkish collection of occasions. We might help the Home of Representatives Ethics Committee to right away launch their report. She was a highschool scholar and there have been witnesses,” Clune stated in a press release. .
The girl, now in her 20s, testified earlier than the Home Ethics Committee that the now-former Florida congressman had intercourse together with her when she was 17 years outdated and he was in Congress, ABC Information beforehand reported.
In a press release responding to that reporting, Gaetz stated: “These allegations are fabricated and would represent false testimony earlier than Congress. This false smear following a three-year felony investigation needs to be considered with nice skepticism.”
The Justice Division spent years investigating the allegations in opposition to Gaetz, together with allegations of obstruction of justice, earlier than telling Gaetz final yr that it could not file costs.
Gaetz has lengthy vehemently denied any wrongdoing in reference to the Justice Division investigation. In September, he supplied an in depth response to questions posed to him by the Home Ethics Committee, which was investigating allegations of alleged sexual misconduct and unlawful drug use.
“Your correspondence dated September 4 asks whether or not I’ve engaged in sexual exercise with anybody beneath the age of 18. The reply to this query is an unequivocal NO. You may apply this reply to any model of this query, in any discussion board,” Gaetz stated in a press release posted on his social media account.
Gaetz resigned this week after being chosen to steer Trump’s Justice Division, ending the Home Ethics Committee investigation that sources informed ABC Information had entered its ultimate levels. Previous to Gaetz’s resignation, the committee had deliberate to fulfill this week to debate whether or not to launch their report on the investigation, leaving it unclear whether or not the report will ever see the sunshine of day.
Home Speaker Mike Johnson stated Friday that he believes the Home Ethics Committee mustn’t launch the findings of its investigation into Gaetz now that the Florida Republican is now not a member of Congress.
“I imagine it is rather necessary to keep up the Home of Representatives’ custom of not issuing ethics stories on people who find themselves now not members of Congress. I believe this is able to open a Pandora’s field,” he stated.
Leppard informed ABC Information he helps the discharge of the report.
“What if sworn testimony detailed conduct that might disqualify somebody from serving as our nation’s chief legislation enforcement officer?” the legal professional stated in his assertion to ABC Information.
