What to know about the sexual misconduct allegations against Matt Gaetz

• Two women who testified before the committee as part of its investigation into Gaetz alleged that he paid them "for sex," an attorney for the women told Axios Tuesday.

The latest: Gaetz announced his withdrawal in a Thursday social media post, writing that his "confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction" for the incoming administration.

• "There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle," he added.
• The attorney for the two women told Axios in a statement Thursday that his clients were "relieved to have this chapter behind them and eager to move forward with their lives."

The big picture: The Justice Department decided not bring to charges against Gaetz last year over sex trafficking allegations, including that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. He has denied those allegations.

• A House Ethics Committee investigation was ongoing until Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress last week.
• Trump nominated Gaetz just before the committee was due to meet about its investigation. His resignation officially ended the probe, but only heightened the attention on his case.

State of play: The lawyer's account of the allegations comes as pressure ramps up for the committee to release its report on the investigation.

What do the women allege?

Both women were introduced to Gaetz in 2017 by Joel Greenberg, a former associate of Gaetz who was later sentenced to 11 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor and other crimes, their attorney, Joel Leppard, told Axios.

• Over the course of 2017 to Jan. 2019, the women were invited to roughly between 10 to 15 events where Gaetz was also present, he added.
• The women testified before the Ethics Committee that there were illegal drugs such as marijuana and ecstasy at the gatherings. While they didn't recall seeing Gaetz taking ecstasy, they testified that he showed signs of being on it, Leppard said.

Zoom in: According to Leppard, both of the women testified that "they received payments from Representative Gaetz and that those payments were for sex." He added the payments were sent via Venmo and PayPal.

• Both women were of age at the time, but one of the women also testified that in July 2017 she saw Gaetz at a party having sex with a third woman who was a minor.
• "She was walking out to the pool area, she turned to her right and she saw Representative Gaetz and her friend, who was 17 at the time, having sex against a game table," Leppard told Axios.
• The woman testified that she believed Gaetz was not aware of the minor's age at the time of their encounter.

What Trump transition team is saying about Gaetz

Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesman for the Trump transition, said in a statement Tuesday that Gaetz "will be the next Attorney General," calling him the "right man for the job."

• "These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration. The Biden Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing," Pfeiffer added.
• Gaetz has denied all wrongdoing concerning the case. He and Trump were both working the phones to convince senators to back his nomination.

What do we know about the House Ethics probe?

The House Ethics Committee investigated Gaetz on-and-off since 2021.

• The probe covered allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepting improper gifts, dispensing special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and seeking to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.

The Committee met on Wednesday for a vote on releasing the report on its Gaetz investigation, which ultimately failed due to Republican opposition.

• House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pushed for the report to remain sealed, while other lawmakers, like Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), called on the committee to release it.

Between the lines: Leppard told Axios that his clients hope that the committee chooses to release the report.

• "They don't want everything that they've gone through to be essentially wasted and to be for nothing," he said.
• Leppard said his clients do not want to go through the process of testifying all over again if called in during Gaetz's Senate confirmation hearing.
• "They are two very strong young ladies and they have been through so much," he said.

Go deeper: House Ethics panel to meet as demand grows for Gaetz report

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional developments.