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Gaetz sent ,000 payments to 2 women who testified in House probe, records suggest
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Gaetz sent $10,000 payments to 2 women who testified in House probe, records suggest

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

Venmo records show that between July 2017 and the end of 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 years at the time.

The payments, which sources said were shown 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 if they were for sex or drugs. Venmo records totaling more than $10,000 in payments were shown to witnesses, who testified that some of the payments were from Gaetz and were for sex, a source familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

Gaetz, who was tapped last Wednesday by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as attorney general in the new administration, resigned from the Chamber immediately after Trump’s announcement, just days before the House Ethics Committee is set to consider releasing a report on its investigation into the Florida congressman, according to sources.

The Justice Department spent years investigating sexual misconduct allegations against Gaetz, as well as obstruction of justice charges, before informing Gaetz last year that it would not press charges. Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing related to the allegations under investigation by Congress and the Justice Department.

“The Department of Justice has been granted access to nearly every financial transaction that Matt Gaetz has ever undertaken and has concluded that he committed no crime,” Trump transition spokesman Alex Pfeiffer said in response to ABC News reports. “These leaks are designed to undermine the people’s mandate to reform the Justice Department.”

“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 for some of Gaetz’s alleged Venmo payments included tags such as “Gift,” “Car Deductible,” “Cartrages” and “Soft Drinks.” Other entries referred to “travel,” and one listed a payment for a flight and the phrase “4 u. in addition”.

That alleged flight payment appears to line up with a September 2018 trip to the Bahamas that ABC News previously reported was part of the Justice Department’s investigation into Gaetz.

Other payments use emojis such as a wrapped gift or the hug emoji, records show.

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

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

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

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 told ABC News.

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