The House Ethics Committee is formally admonishing Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in a rarely issued rebuke over the Trump bootlicker’s tweet that attempted to intimidate Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen ahead of his testimony to Congress in 2019. The rebuke was unanimous and called out Gaetz for his attempt to intimidate a witness in the tweet, which, it said, “did not reflect creditably upon the House of Representatives” and “did not meet the standards by which Members of the House should govern themselves.”
The Ethics Committee reviewed “allegations that Representative Gaetz sought to threaten, intimidate, harass, or otherwise improperly influence the President’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, in connection with Mr. Cohen’s testimony before a congressional committee.”
Gaetz, a close ally and enabler of Donald Trump’s, unleashed a tweet in February 2019 — just one day before Cohen testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee about his experiences working with Trump — accusing Trump’s former attorney and fixer of having extramarital affairs. And that’s kind of rich since Trump has cheated on all three of his wives.
“Hey @MichaelCohen212 — Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends?” Gaetz tweeted at the time. “Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she’ll remain faithful when you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot…”
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Gaetz initially defended the tweet, then later apologized after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called him out, saying the was it was not his “intent to threaten” Cohen. Gaetz eventually deleted the tweet after a swift backlash.
Gaetz, 38, finally complied with the investigation and testified that he “acted improperly regarding [his] own standards” and was “sorry for doing so.”
“Representative Gaetz’s specific actions, and in particular, his statement that Mr. Cohen’s wife was “about to learn a lot,” coupled with the timing of his tweet the day before Mr. Cohen was set to testify, were an appropriate cause for concern and review,” the report states. “Likewise, the Florida Bar grievance committee found Representative Gaetz’s tweet to be “unprofessional, reckless, insensitive, and [that it] demonstrated poor judgment,” and that his “actions do not reflect favorably on [him] as a member of The Florida Bar.” 22 In light of the above, the Committee admonishes Representative Gaetz.”
However, the Committee did conclude that Gaetz did not violate witness tampering and obstruction of Congress laws.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
