Two women told House ethics panel Gaetz sent Venmo payments “for sex” and asked about “party favors,” their attorney says

Two women interviewed by the House Ethics Committee about former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be attorney general, testified that Gaetz paid them directly and repeatedly in Venmo transactions “for sex,” and that those transactions were obtained by the committee, an attorney for the women told CBS News. The attorney, Joel Leppard, also said the women testified that Gaetz inquired in text messages about “party favors” and “vitamins” at upcoming parties, which was understood to be code for drugs.

Leppard, who is based in Orlando, said his clients testified that they attended parties from 2017 to January 2019 where Gaetz was present and sex and drug use took place. In an interview Monday with CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, Leppard said one of his clients testified before the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl against a game table at a July 2017 party. Gaetz was sworn into Congress in January 2017, so all of the events the women allege took place while he was a member of the House. 

Officials with the Trump transition team and attorneys for Gaetz did not respond to requests for comment Monday. One source familiar with Gaetz’s legal position questioned the credibility of the women and argued their recollections would not have withstood cross examination in court, had it come to that.

Gaetz, who has denied all wrongdoing, including having sex with a minor, has blasted the committee’s investigation against him and on Thursday called the testimony about him a “false smear.”

Gaetz’s conduct was also investigated by federal prosecutors, but they ended the probe in 2023 without filing charges.

As the House Ethics Committee weighs whether to release its report, which investigated allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and bribery, Leppard said his clients want the public to know they are telling the truth. 

One of his clients said in a text to Leppard, “‘Regardless of how many times he tries to distract from the truth, the public deserves to know that what we all experienced was real and actually happened.'”

“My clients are not political; they didn’t vote in the last two elections — they don’t care one way or another,” Leppard told Garrett. “But they do want the public to know that they are not lying. They did not come forward willingly — they have never spoken to anyone without a force of a legal subpoena.”

He continued, “And if the American people would know, then they could decide if that’s the person they want to be the next attorney general.”

One of Leppard’s clients is among at least four women who have told the committee they were paid to attend parties with drugs and sex where Gaetz was present, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Her account corroborates the testimony of the then-minor, who told the committee that she had sex with Gaetz when she was 17 years old.

At the July 2017 party where his client alleges this occurred, Leppard said she and others were “at the party in order to provide entertainment, to be happy, to be lively and provide sexual favors for the gentlemen that were present.”

“The expectation was that they would have sexual intercourse,” Leppard said his clients testified about these parties. “They testified to the House that — and the House actually had their Venmo transactions, PayPal transactions, of Representative Gaetz.” 

Leppard said the House panel asked the women about Gaetz’s PayPal and Venmo transactions.

“‘What was this for? What was this for,'” Leppard said his clients were asked. 

“‘This was for sex,'” he said they responded. “‘This was for sex. This was for sex.'”

Leppard said the payments were typically between $200 and $500 at a time. 

He said his clients also testified that sometimes, someone other than Gaetz would make a payment on his behalf. On at least one occasion, according to Leppard, that was Nestor Galban, a Cuban immigrant who is close to Gaetz and whom Gaetz has referred to as his “son.” He said other payments on Gaetz’s behalf were made by Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg, who was convicted in 2022 of sex trafficking of a minor and other crimes.

Leppard said his client who testified that she saw Gaetz having sex with the 17-year-old also told the panel she did not believe Gaetz was aware of her age at the time. 

“My client, at least, testified that he did not know her age,” Leppard said. 

Leppard’s client testified that she knew the 17-year-old girl and her age, and said the two attended high school together. 

His client testified that she had sex with Gaetz after arriving at the July 2017 house party. Later during the party, his client testified, she was walking outside when she saw Gaetz having sex with her friend, the 17-year-old, against the gaming table. 

Leppard said one of his clients provided more than 100 texts involving Gaetz to the committee. Frequently, Leppard said, the texts his client provided showed Gaetz would have to be reminded to pay. 

“There was a lot of texts requesting payment, like, ‘Hey, when are you going to pay me?'” Leppard said. “Or, ‘I don’t want to be that girl, but can you please go ahead and pay me what we agreed upon?’ Text messages along those lines. The texts the House was more interested in was the ones where Representative Gaetz was seemingly requesting that drugs be present.”

“So, in my line of work as a criminal defense attorney, no one ever requests, ‘Can you give me some drugs, please?'” Leppard said. “They usually use code words. And so Representative Gaetz would use terms like, ‘Can you make sure that there are party favors present?’ Or, ‘Who’s in charge of party favors?’ He used the term ‘party favor mecca’ when he was referring to another individual who was bringing party favors. He also used the term ‘vitamins,’ I believe.”

Still, Leppard’s clients told the House panel they could not specifically recall whether they had seen Gaetz use marijuana or other drugs. 

The texts also included a “lot of positive emojis,” Leppard said, like hearts, and “positive statements” back and forth between Gaetz, his clients and others. Leppard characterized the relationship with Gaetz as a complicated one, but also one of friendship, and he also told Garrett that his clients knew Gaetz’s girlfriend at the time. 

“At least one of my clients testified that, in a sense, they were required to please Mr. Gaetz before going out and attending their [Electronic Dance Music] show,” Leppard said of one alleged occasion about which his client testified. “And that was something that was of particular interest to the House. Representative Gaetz’s girlfriend texted them, and they essentially took care of their duties, and later on, they went to see their show.” 

Leppard said his clients have “been through heck” and are worried that if they testify before the Senate or anywhere else publicly, “they might not be safe in their jobs.”  

The House Ethics Committee had planned to vote Friday, Nov. 15, on releasing its report, but the meeting was canceled after Trump announced his intention Wednesday to nominate Gaetz, and then a few hours later, the Florida Republican abruptly resigned from Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he would “strongly request” that the House Ethics Committee withhold the report on its investigation into Gaetz. The committee has equal representation among Democrats and Republicans — five Democrats and five Republicans. 

Democratic and Republican senators who would vote on Gaetz’s confirmation as attorney general have said they want access to the ethics panel’s report.

contributed to this report.