Matt Gaetz releases a statement from the 'women' of his office defending him, but no women are named in it

• Rep. Matt Gaetz's office released a nameless statement from the "women" on his staff defending him.
• The statement said Gaetz had "treated each and every one of us with respect."
• The DOJ is investigating whether Gaetz violated federal sex-trafficking laws.

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz released a statement from the "women" of his office defending him amid an escalating sex scandal, but no women were named and no specific person signed the statement.

The statement, signed by "The Women of the Office of U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz," said: "After the shocking allegations last week in the press, we, the women of Congressman Matt Gaetz's office, feel morally obligated to speak out."

It added: "During Congressman Gaetz's time in office, we have been behind the scenes every step of the way. We have staffed his meetings. We have planned his events. We have traveled with him. And we have tracked his schedule. On every occasion he has treated each and every one of us with respect. Thus, we uniformly reject these allegations as false."

The statement said that in Gaetz's office, "women are not only respected, but have been encouraged time and time again to grow, achieve more, and ultimately, know our value."

"Congressman Gaetz will continue to lead by example and stand for the people of America who have been maligned by the liberal elite," the statement said. "And we will stand with him. While we recognize the scrutiny we will face for making this decision, we take comfort in the hope that more Americans and elected officials will stand up and refuse to remain silent."

Gaetz's office told Insider that his entire staff supported the statement, including "all 8 women staffers."

As first reported by The New York Times, the Justice Department is investigating whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and violated federal sex-trafficking laws. The Florida Republican has not been charged in connection with the investigation and has fervently denied the allegations against him.

Beyond the sex-trafficking investigation, CNN also reported Gaetz showed colleagues nude photos of women he said he'd slept with and bragged about his sexual exploits.

Charles Davis contributed reporting.