Trump's Trials - Sexual misconduct and drug allegations against Trump's pick for attorney general

Episode Date: November 21, 2024

Trump's Trials is now Trump's Terms. Each episode, host Scott Detrow curates NPR coverage of the incoming Trump administration. This episode: attorney representing two women who testified before a House committee is revealing what his clients said about Matt Gaetz, the former congressman and Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Justice. NPR's Juana Summers speaks to NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas about the allegations. Support NPR and hear every episode sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detro and you're listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. We will have really great strong people. Donald Trump is unstoppable. Make America healthy again. The future is gonna be amazing. Each episode we bring you NPR's latest coverage of the incoming Trump administration and the people who will run it. Cabinet secretaries,

political advisors, military leaders. NPR is following their agenda and their path to power to bring you stories like the one you're about to hear right after this. I'm Wanda Summers. President-elect Donald Trump's pick to leave the Justice Department, Matt Gaetz, is continuing to generate controversy and headlines. Now an attorney who represents two women who testified before a House committee investigating Gaetz is revealing what his clients told the panel about Gaetz allegedly attending sex and drug parties.

NPR Justice correspondent Ryan Lucas is here in the studio with more. Hey Ryan. Hey there. So Ryan. Hi there. So Ryan, the House Ethics Committee was investigating Gates over allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. And I understand that you spoke with the attorney whose clients talked to that panel. What did they tell lawmakers? Well this attorney's name is Joel Leppard.

He represents, as you said, two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee as part of the panel's investigation into Gates. And Leppard says his clients were among a group of four or five young women in the Orlando area who knew Gates and met up with him in 2017 and 2018. So Gates was a member of the House at that time. Leppard says his clients were over 18 at this time period, but they went to sex and drug parties with Gates. There were more than five of these parties in all, he says. One of of Leopard's clients, he says, told the committee that she witnessed Gates having sex with a minor at a party in July of 2017. Leopard also says his clients went over with members of the

committee individual Venmo and PayPal transactions and what each one was for. And they testified, Leopard says, that Gates paid them for sex. I mean, I might imagine, Ryan, that this would put some additional pressure on the House panel to release its report about that investigation into Gates, right? That's absolutely right. Pressure has been building on that front for a long time now. And that's despite the fact that Gates resigned from Congress after Trump picked him for attorney general, which effectively ended the committee's investigation.

Now Leppard is speaking out at this point, he says, to protect his clients. He says these investigations have taken a toll on them. He said his clients are not politically minded people, but they're worried about their own well-being and about potentially having to testify about this again. Leopard also said this. There is a little bit of anxiety about someone as powerful as Mr. Gates coming into power and what that might look like for people that have spoken out. But it does also speak to a larger concern that there are things that people should know that they know

when they make their decision. And just to be clear here, Leopard is calling for the Ethics Committee to release its report on Gates so that the public and members of the Senate have all of the necessary information about these allegations when they consider Gates as a potential attorney general. Right, got it. Okay, so has Gates or the Trump transition team responded to the allegations? Well, Gates has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. A spokesman for the Trump transition team, Alex Pfeiffer, said that these allegations are baseless. He said that they're designed to derail the second Trump administration. He also said the Biden administration investigated Gates for possible sex trafficking and in that case, prosecutors decided not to bring

charges. Pfeiffer also said Gates is the right man to lead the Justice Department, that he will end what he called the weaponization of the justice system. And he said emphatically that Gates will be the next attorney general. Really seems like Trump is all in with Gates for now. So tell us, Ryan, where does this all go from here? Well, our colleague Deirdre Walsh has confirmed that the ethics committee is expected to meet on Wednesday to consider the Gates report and whether to release it. House Speaker Mike Johnson said last week that he doesn't think it should be made public. He says doing so

would set a bad precedent, but senators, including senior Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee who would have, of course, first crack at Gates's nomination. They've made clear that they want to see what is in the House Ethics Committee's report, what they have learned in its investigation. So there may be more to come on this in the days ahead. NPR's Ryan Lucas. Thank you. Thank you. And before we wrap up, a thank you to our NPR Plus supporters, who hear each show without sponsored messages and of course who help protect independent journalism. If you are not a supporter yet, you can visit plus.npr.org to find out how you can get a ton of podcast perks across dozens of NPR shows, like bonus episodes, exclusive merchandise,

and more. Again, that's plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detro. Thanks for listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working together to create a just world where all people have access to renewable energy, clean air and water, and healthy food. The Schmidt Family Foundation is part of the philanthropic organizations and initiatives

created and funded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to work toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all on the web at the Schmidt.org. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Dignity Memorial. When your celebration of life is prepaid today, your family is protected tomorrow. Planning ahead is truly one of the best gifts you can give your family. For additional information, visit DignityMemorial.ca. This message comes from Indiana University. Indiana University is committed to moving the world forward,

working to tackle some of society's biggest challenges, nine campuses, one purpose, creating tomorrow today. More at iu.edu.