The lawyer for two women who testified to the House Ethics Committee that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid them for “sexual favors” said Monday that one of the forms in which they were paid was the PayPal of Nestor Galban, whom Gaetz calls his “adopted son.”
Florida attorney Joel Leppard embarked on a media tour Monday, just days after Gaetz was named as President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general pick. Leppard spoke with The Washington Post about his clients' testimony, as well as to CNN and other outlets.
On CNN, he said one of his clients—who was a friend of the minor Gaetz is accused of having sex with—attended a July 2017 party with the attorney general nominee.
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“She testified to the House that as she was walking out to the pool area, she turned to her right and she witnessed … her friend having sex with Representative Gaetz. And her friend at that time was 17.”
Gaetz has denied all of the accusations. A federal probe into the matter was ultimately shelved with no charges filed against him.
Leppard added that his clients testified that payments for sex from Gaetz lasted from that summer through early 2019.
“There were events at Airbnbs. There were events at individuals’ houses. There were events that took place at political events,” Leppard told OutFront anchor Erin Burnett. “There was a trip to New York. There’s a trip to Bahamas. So events like this did happen from time to time, perhaps over 10 times over the course of July 2017 to early January 2019.”
A House Ethics Committee’s report on the allegations has not yet been made public. A lawyer for the minor with whom Gaetz allegedly had sex has called for it to be released. Several top Republicans have as well.
Gaetz’s relationship with his “adopted son” has been met with bafflement in Washington ever since he first revealed Nestor in 2020, describing him as the son of an ex-girlfriend.
“We share no blood but he is my life,” he said at the time.
It remains unclear whether Gaetz formally adopted him.
