The House Ethics Committee officially launched an investigation into a threatening tweet Gaetz sent in February to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) could be in even more trouble.
The House Ethics Committee on Friday announced that it's launching an investigation into a threatening tweet Gaetz sent back in February to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, Politico reported.
In the tweet, Gaetz seemed to be warning Cohen not to say anything damaging about Trump, against whom Cohen was testifying — a possible violation of 18 U.S. Code 1512, which prohibits people from "tampering with a witness, victim or an informant."
"Hey @MichaelCohen212 – Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? 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…" Gaetz tweeted in February, before Cohen was set to testify before the House Oversight Committee.
Gaetz was forced to apologize for the incident and deleted the tweet.
But that hasn't stopped the investigations.
Gaetz is already under investigation by the Florida Bar Association, which is looking into whether Gaetz violated legal ethics laws in the state by sending the offending tweet. Gaetz is currently a licensed lawyer in Florida, and could possibly lose his license to practice if the investigation finds he violated the law.
Now, the 10-member House Ethics Committee will be looking into whether Gaetz's tweet violated congressional ethics.
If the committee — which is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans — finds Gaetz violated congressional ethics, he could be reprimanded or censured.
Turns out Gaetz's quest to be Trump's biggest defender on Capitol Hill only got him in trouble.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
