Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) just got busted violating House rules and spending taxpayer money doing it even as he rails against Republican senators for trading stocks based on coronavirus briefings.
Gaetz has been calling for Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.) to resign ever since he got caught selling off stocks after an intelligence briefing on the coronavirus prior to the stock market falling off a cliff.
His campaign against Burr is righteous, but not without some hypocrisy.
As it turns out, Gaetz has been renting office space from a close family friend since 2017 at a cost of nearly $200,000 paid using taxpayer money, all while failing to disclose his personal and professional relationship with his landlord.
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According to Politico:
The agreement between Gaetz and Collier Merrill, a Pensacola real estate developer and restaurateur, highlights how a decades-long relationship can become intertwined with a lawmaker’s congressional duties. On top of being Merrill’s tenant, Gaetz attended fundraisers at Merrill’s restaurants, sought his counsel on policy matters and tapped him as a validator for his work in Washington.
Gaetz — who represents a conservative swath of the Florida Panhandle — has paid more than $184,000 to Merrill’s Empire Partners LLC to rent the entire sixth-floor in the Seville Tower, a historic building in downtown Pensacola, according to House disbursement records. Gaetz has rented from Merrill since he got to Congress in 2017.”
The relationship with Merrill goes back to 1994. Merrill has been friends with Gaetz’s father for years and has advised Gaetz on policy.
When reached for comment on the story, Gaetz told the publication: “Every member of Congress has relationships with their donors. The question is whether or not those relationships are improper or illegal.”
This one appears to be a little of both, based on House rules that require office space to be leased “at fair market value as the result of a bona fide, arms-length, marketplace transaction. The Lessor and Lessee certify that the parties are not relatives nor have had, or continue to have, a professional or legal relationship (except as a landlord and tenant).”
The transaction between Gaetz and Merrill most certainly was not “arms-length” and Gaetz should have disclosed their relationship from the start.
There should be an investigation as soon as possible.
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