Just minutes after former Rep. Matt Gaetz announced that he is withdrawing from consideration to be Donald Trump’s attorney general, CNN published a scoop regarding a reported second sexual encounter the Florida Republican had with a 17-year-old girl at a party.
The House Ethics Committee that was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct by Gaetz had heard from a woman who testified to having sex with the then-congressman when she was a minor. Gaetz has repeatedly denied having sex with underage girls, and was ultimately not charged in a separate Justice Department investigation into the allegations.
On Thursday, CNN published a scoop detailing a previously unreported alleged sexual encounter involving Gaetz and the same woman. Sources familiar with her testimony to the House committee told the network that the woman recalled having two sexual encounters with the Republican at one party in 2017, when she was 17.
The alleged second encounter was a threesome that included an adult woman, though CNN reports she has denied participation. NBC News confirmed the same alleged second encounter later Thursday.
The sexual misconduct allegations against Gaetz came back into the limelight after the president-elect picked him last week to potentially lead the Justice Department under the incoming Trump administration. Since the announcement, multiple news outlets have reported on leaks detailing thousands of dollars in payments Gaetz allegedly wired to women who say he hired them for sex.
According to CNN’s Paula Reid, the network reached out to Gaetz for comment on the scoop Thursday morning, telling him that the story would publish at 12:30 p.m. ET. At 12:24 p.m. ET — six minutes before the scoop was set to publish — Gaetz posted a statement announcing his decision to withdraw from consideration for attorney general.
“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many,” the ex-congressman posted on X. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”
“There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General,” he continued. “Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
The House Ethics Committee had been investigating the allegations into Gaetz on and off since 2021, but the Republican’s abrupt resignation from the House last week effectively ended the probe — just days before the panel was set to release its conclusion. On Wednesday, the GOP-led panel voted along party lines not to publish the results of its probe, instead choosing to next meet on Dec. 5 for a vote on the final report.
An attorney for the woman who had the two alleged sexual encounters with Gaetz said the ethics report should be released “immediately,” stressing that his client was a high school student at the time of the incidents and that there were witnesses at the party.
That same woman also testified to both alleged encounters in a deposition, as part of a civil dispute in federal court involving a man who owned the Florida house where the 2017 party and alleged encounters occurred. While that deposition is still under seal, attorneys described her allegations in a separate deposition that is public record — including that Gaetz reportedly had sex with her on an air hockey table at the party while the homeowner watched.
Joel Leppard, an attorney representing two other women who testified before the committee, said his clients claim Gaetz paid them for sex, and that one of them witnessed the then-congressman having sex with a minor.
Democracy In The Balance
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“Democracy demands transparency,” Leppard said. “Release the Gaetz ethics report.”
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.