"Hit Up ___": The Daily Beast Uncovers Venmo Payments Matt Gaetz Sent To Accused Sex Trafficker

The Daily Beast has obtained the Venmo records of Republican congressman Matt Gaetz and discovered payments sent to accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg. The memo for one payment of $900 read "Hit up" an unnamed person. Eight minutes later, Greenberg sent three payments totaling $900 to different women with the memos "School," "Tuition" and "Tuition."

The Justice Department has been looking into Gaetz as part of its investigation into Greenberg, who has been indicted on 33 counts, including sex trafficking of a 17-year-old. The Daily Beast confirmed that the woman Gaetz asked Greenberg to "hit up" was 18 at the time of the transaction.

According to The Daily Beast, Gaetz' Venmo records were public and were made private as the story developed.

This may hardly be the full extent of Gaetz and Greenberg's relationship. Daniel O'Keefe, a Florida accountant who conducted a forensic audit of Greenberg's records, found more than $300,000 worth of payments labeled suspicious or unaccounted for. Greenberg appears to have been using taxpayer dollars with a government-issued credit card to make these transactions. One woman is connected to both Greenberg and Gaetz through those payments.

"The arrogance of these guys. They just felt they were above the law. I've never seen it this bad," said O'Keefe.

The story led Adam Kinzinger, a Republican congressman, to call for Gaetz' resignation, the first Republican to do so. Meanwhile, senior staffers of Gaetz are resigning.

Matt Gaetz needs to resign. https://t.co/AygfqAxQJX via @thedailybeast

— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) April 9, 2021

Matt Gaetz’s Legislative Director Devin Murphy has resigned, the 2nd senior staffer to do so.

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) April 9, 2021

Greenberg is reportedly planning to strike a plea deal and cooperate with the investigation into him. This could potentially be terrible news for Gaetz.

"I'm sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today," said Fritz Scheller, Greenberg's defense attorney.