(CNN) – The woman who says she had sex when she was a minor with then-Rep. Matt Gaetz told the House Ethics Committee that she had two sexual encounters with him at a party in 2017, sources familiar with her testimony told CNN.
The woman, who was 17 years old at the time, testified that the second sexual encounter, which has not previously been reported, involved another adult woman. She also testified about both sexual encounters in a civil deposition as part of a related lawsuit, sources said.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied having sex with a minor and was not charged after the Justice Department investigated these alleged encounters. CNN has reached out to Gaetz for comment.
Gaetz and President-elect Donald Trump are working to block support on Capitol Hill for the former Florida congressman to become the next attorney general. Members of the Republican-led House Ethics panel voted along party lines Wednesday not to release the results of their investigation, choosing instead to reconvene on Dec. 5 to vote on the final report.
The other woman, who was an adult at the time, has denied taking part in the alleged second encounter, according to multiple sources familiar with her ethics testimony.
The Justice Department closed its investigation into Gaetz last year after prosecutors recommended no criminal charges be filed against him. The House Ethics Committee has revived its investigation into the Florida lawmaker after DOJ concluded the case and is under increasing pressure to release its final report.
Allegations against Gaetz have also come to light as part of a civil dispute in federal court in Florida. The statement of the woman, who was 17 at the time, remains secret, but her allegations were detailed during another statement that is public. At one point, attorneys said she testified that she had sex with Gaetz on an air hockey table at the house party while the homeowner watched.
An attorney for the woman who was a minor at the time of the sexual encounters has called for the “immediate release” of the ethics report, noting that his client was a high school student at the time and saying there were witnesses.
Joel Leppard, an attorney representing two other women who were witnesses in the House Ethics Committee investigation, said one of his clients testified that she witnessed Gaetz having sex with a minor. Leppard said his client told the committee she did not believe Gaetz knew her friend was underage at the time.
Both of Leppard’s clients sat before the committee for closed-door testimony. He has said they both testified that Gaetz paid them for “sexual favors.”
Leppard also called on the House Ethics Committee to release the report on Gaetz, stressing the importance of transparency. “Democracy requires transparency. Release the Gaetz Ethics Report,” Leppard said.
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