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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Woman told House Ethics Committee she saw Gaetz have sex with a minor,
lawyer says
By Casey Gannon and Kaanita Iyer, CNN
Updated:
9:28 PM EST, Fri November 15, 2024
Source: CNN
The attorney who represents two women who were witnesses in the House
Ethics Committee probe into former congressman Matt Gaetz said Friday
that one of his clients told the panel she saw the congressman having
sex with a minor.
“My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed
Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor,” said attorney Joel Leppard,
whose clients sat for closed-door testimony before the committee as
part of the into the Florida Republican.
The committee had been probing allegations that Gaetz may have
“engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper
gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom
he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government
investigations of his conduct.” Gaetz has repeatedly denied any
wrongdoing, including ever having sex with a minor or paying for sex.
Asked Friday about the testimony, first reported on by , a spokesperson
for Gaetz told CNN that “Merrick Garland’s DOJ cleared Matt Gaetz
and didn’t charge him.”
The Department of Justice had separately pursued a yearslong sex-crimes
investigation into Gaetz but last year not to pursue criminal charges
against him.
The investigations have drawn renewed attention in recent days after
President-elect Donald Trump earlier this week announced his intention
to nominate Gaetz in his incoming administration.
If approved for the role by the Senate, Gaetz would take over DOJ, the
nation’s top law enforcement agency, and be in control of the
investigative files that detail the evidence the FBI uncovered in the
sex trafficking investigation against him.
The Justice Department deemed the files too sensitive to release even
to the House Ethics Committee.
Gaetz’s resignation from Congress to prepare for the confirmation
process effectively ended the congressional investigation, as the panel
only has jurisdiction over a member when they are serving in Congress.
Democrats immediately began calling for the release of the
committee’s long-awaited findings – a call that Leppard echoed
Friday, arguing that “democracy demands transparency.”
Late Thursday, Republicans canceled a scheduled Friday meeting with
Democrats on the panel that was expected to address the report, sources
told CNN. And House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he does not think
the panel’s findings should be released and that he was “going to
strongly request” the committee not do so.
Gaetz is just one of a number of provocative picks that Trump has made
for his Cabinet, including veteran-turned-Fox News host Pete Hegseth,
whose nomination is already from the president-elect’s transition
team.
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