Gaetz sent more than $10,000 in Venmo payments to 2 women who testified in House investigation, records suggest

The House Ethics Committee obtained records, including a check and records of Venmo payments, that appear to show then-Rep. Matt Gaetz paid more than $10,000 to two women who were later witnesses in sexual misconduct investigations by the House and the Justice Department, according to documents obtained by ABC News.

Venmo records show that between July 2017 and late January 2019, Gaetz — who was first elected in 2016 — allegedly made 27 Venmo payments totaling $10,224.02 to the two witnesses, who were over 18 at the time.

The payments, which sources said were presented during closed-door testimony, ranged from $100 to more than $700 each.

ABC News previously reported that House investigators subpoenaed Venmo for Gaetz’s records and showed them to witnesses, asking whether they involved sex or drugs. Venmo records totaling more than $10,000 in payments were shown to witnesses, who said some of the payments came from Gaetz and were intended for sex, a source close to the investigation told ABC News.

Gaetz, who was nominated last Wednesday by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as attorney general in the new administration, resigned from the House immediately after Trump’s announcement, just days before the House Ethics Committee does not plan to publish a report on its investigation. in the Florida congressman, according to sources.

The Justice Department spent years investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against Gaetz, as well as allegations of obstruction of justice, before informing Gaetz last year that he would not bring charges. accusations. Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing related to the allegations investigated in congressional and Justice Department investigations.

“The Department of Justice has had access to almost every financial transaction Matt Gaetz has ever undertaken and has concluded that he did not commit a crime,” Trump transition spokesperson said, Alex Pfeiffer, in response to ABC News reports. “These leaks are intended to undermine the people’s mandate to reform the Department of Justice.”

“These are baseless allegations designed to derail the second Trump administration,” Pfeiffer said this week of the allegations involving Gaetz, which the Justice Department began investigating during the first Trump administration.

Descriptions in the “Notes” section of some of Gaetz’s alleged Venmo payments included labels such as “Gift,” “Car Franchise,” “Cartrages,” and “Refreshments.” Other entries referred to “travel”, and one included paying for a flight and the phrase “extra 4 u”.

This alleged flight payment appears to correspond to a September 2018 trip to the Bahamas, which ABC News reported was part of the Justice Department’s investigation into Gaetz.

In other payments, emojis like a wrapped gift or the hug emoji are used, records show.

Payment records also show that in early January 2019, both witnesses received mirror payments labeled for “travel” around the time Gaetz allegedly arranged for two women to travel to New York to have sex and accompany him to an appearance on the Fox News show. Outnumbered,” as ABC News previously reported.

The ethics committee also obtained a signed check, made out to cash and dated October 2018, purportedly from Gaetz for $750, with the note reading “tuition reimbursement.” A witness told the committee that Gaetz gave him the check, according to a source familiar with the matter. Gaetz’s name is printed at the top left of the check along with an address.

Gaetz previously dismissed allegations that he paid for sex, saying “someone is trying to reclassify my generosity toward my ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”

The House Ethics Committee is expected to meet Wednesday and discuss whether to vote to release its report on Gaetz, despite the fact that its investigation ended when Gaetz resigned from the House, multiple sources said at ABC News.