Washington, United States

Federal investigators in the United States have compiled a detailed chart outlining payments by Matt Gaetz and his associates, suggesting involvement in drug-fuelled sex parties. 

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A web of payments

The document, obtained by The New York Times and shared with the House Ethics Committee, traces Venmo transactions between Gaetz, his friends, and women who allegedly participated in these events — among them are the two who alleged he had hired them for sex.  

Also read | Testimonies in sexual misconduct case against Trump's attorney general pick Matt Gaetz exposed online

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The two women, represented by lawyer Joel Leppard, testified to the Ethics Committee that Gaetz paid them for sex. Payments reportedly totalled $10,000, with amounts ranging from $200 to $500 per encounter. Leppard in a telephone interview with NYT confirmed his clients received payments via Venmo and PayPal, adding that evidence from subpoenas revealed additional undisclosed amounts.  

The chart also includes $450 worth of transactions to a 17-year-old girl alleged to have attended one of the parties. Joel Greenberg, Gaetz's former associate, earlier accepted that they both had sex with her, but claimed they believed she was of legal age. Greenberg, a key figure in the investigation, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and other charges in 2021 and is serving an 11-year sentence.  

Ethics committee inquiry against Gaetz  

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The investigation into Gaetz’s conduct began in 2020 and centred on allegations of sex trafficking and payments for sex. Although the Justice Department declined to charge Gaetz, the Ethics Committee obtained some evidence, including the payment chart.  

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Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, recently resigned from Congress. He has consistently denied any misconduct. Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, accused the Justice Department of leaking the payment chart to discredit Gaetz. Cheung described the material as "classified," though it lacks such markings and does not involve national security.  

"This purposeful leaking of classified investigative materials is the sort of politicised D.O.J. weaponisation that Matt Gaetz will end," said Cheung.

"The Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years, failed to find a crime and are now leaking material with false information to smear the next attorney general," he alleged.

(With inputs from agencies)