[House Report 116-479]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 89
116th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 116-479
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE MATTER OF ALLEGATIONS
RELATING TO REPRESENTATIVE
MATT GAETZ
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON ETHICS
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August 21, 2020.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
99-006 WASHINGTON : 2020
COMMITTEE ON ETHICS
THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida, KENNY MARCHANT, Texas,
Chairman Ranking Member
GRACE MENG, New York GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana
DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota MICHAEL GUEST, Mississippi
ANTHONY BROWN, Maryland
REPORT STAFF
Thomas A. Rust, Chief Counsel/Staff Director
Brittney L. Pescatore, Director of Investigations
David Arrojo, Counsel to the Chairman
Chris Donesa, Counsel to the Ranking Member
C. Ezekiel Ross, Counsel
Danielle Appleman, Investigator
Caroline Taylor, Investigative Clerk
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
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House of Representatives,
Committee on Ethics,
Washington, DC, August 21, 2020.
Hon. Cheryl L. Johnson,
Clerk, House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Ms. Johnson: Pursuant to clauses 3(a)(2) and 3(b) of
Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, we
herewith transmit the attached report, ``In the Matter of
Allegations Relating to Representative Matt Gaetz.''
Sincerely,
Theodore E. Deutch,
Chairman.
Kenny Marchant,
Ranking Member.
C O N T E N T S
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Page
I. INTRODUCTION......................................................1
II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY................................................2
III.FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS..........................................3
IV. STATEMENT UNDER HOUSE RULE XIII, CLAUSE 3(c)......................4
APPENDIX A: REPORT OF THE INVESTIGATIVE SUBCOMMITTEE............. 5
Calendar No. 89
116th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 116-479
======================================================================
IN THE MATTER OF ALLEGATIONS RELATING TO REPRESENTATIVE MATT GAETZ
_______
August 21, 2020.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Deutch, from the Committee on Ethics,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
In accordance with House Rule XI, clauses 3(a)(2) and 3(b),
the Committee on Ethics (Committee) hereby submits the
following Report to the House of Representatives:
I. INTRODUCTION
On March 13, 2019, the Committee received a Member
complaint against Representative Matt Gaetz. The Committee then
began a review, pursuant to Committee Rules 16(c) and 18(a),
into 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. The
allegations relate to a message posted by Representative Gaetz
on his unofficial Twitter account the day before Mr. Cohen was
set to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and
Reform.
Because Representative Gaetz initially declined to testify
before the Committee, the Committee was unable to dispose of
the complaint in a timely fashion and therefore was required,
pursuant to House Rule XI, clause 3(b)(2), and Committee Rule
16(d), to establish an Investigative Subcommittee (ISC) and
forward the complaint against Representative Gaetz to the ISC
for consideration. The ISC conducted a review of the
information in the complaint and was ultimately able to obtain
Representative Gaetz's testimony. On February 3, 2020, the ISC
transmitted its Report to the full Committee, summarizing its
findings and recommendations. The Committee thanks the Members
of the ISC for their efforts and attention to this matter.
The ISC found that Representative Gaetz's tweet to Mr.
Cohen did not violate witness tampering and obstruction of
Congress laws, but Representative Gaetz's actions did not
reflect creditably upon the House of Representatives, in
violation of House Rule XXIII, clause 1 of the Code of Official
Conduct. The ISC noted that a grievance committee of the
Florida Bar found Representative Gaetz's tweet to be
``unprofessional, reckless, insensitive, and [that it]
demonstrated poor judgment.''\1\ The Florida Bar grievance
committee concluded that, ``[w]hile [Representative Gaetz's]
conduct in this instance did not warrant formal discipline, . .
. it was not consistent with the high standards of [its]
profession, and . . . [his] actions do not reflect favorably on
[Representative Gaetz] as a member of The Florida Bar.\2\
Likewise, Representative Gaetz himself told the ISC that he was
``not comfortable with the language I used,'' that he ``acted
improperly regarding [his] own standards,'' and that he was
``sorry for doing so.''\3\ The ISC joined Representative Gaetz
and the Florida Bar grievance committee in finding
Representative Gaetz's tweet to Mr. Cohen did not meet the
standards by which Members of the House should govern
themselves and recommended that the Committee admonish
Representative Gaetz for his conduct.\4\
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\1\ISC Report at 6.
\2\Id.
\3\Id.
\4\Id. at 9-11.
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In light of the above, on July 29, 2020, the Committee
unanimously voted to adopt this Report, admonish Representative
Gaetz, and release the ISC Report, which is transmitted as an
appendix to this Report.\5\
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\5\See Appendix A.
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II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On March 13, 2019, the Committee received a letter from
Representative Kathleen Rice requesting an investigation into
allegations involving Representative Gaetz.\6\ On March 26,
2019, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee,
pursuant to House Rule XI, clause 3(j) and Committee Rule
16(a), determined that the letter submitted by Representative
Rice met the Committee's requirements for what constitutes a
complaint.\7\ Representative Gaetz declined the Committee's
invitation to testify and the Committee was unable to resolve
the matter by the rule-based deadline.\8\ Accordingly, an ISC
was formed pursuant to House Rule XI, clause 3(b)(2), and
Committee Rule 16(d).\9\ On June 28, 2019, the Committee
publicly announced the ISC's formation and membership.
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\6\ISC Report at 2.
\7\Id.
\8\Id.; Committee Rule 16(b) (establishing the rules-based
deadlines for handling a properly executed complaint).
\9\ISC Report at 2.
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The ISC met a total of six times and interviewed
Representative Gaetz.\10\ The ISC also reviewed over 160 pages
of materials including information from the Florida Bar.\11\ On
January 28, 2020, the ISC unanimously voted to adopt its Report
and transmit it to the Committee.\12\ The ISC did not recommend
the Committee impose a sanction in this matter but did
recommend that Representative Gaetz be admonished for his
conduct.\13\ The Committee considered the ISC's Report and on
July 29, 2020, unanimously voted to release the ISC's findings
and issue this Report.
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\10\Id.
\11\Id.
\12\Id.
\13\See Committee Rule 24 (discussing Committee level sanctions,
House level sanctions, and the prerequisite steps necessary for
implementation of each).
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III. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
On February 26, 2019, Representative Gaetz drafted and
posted a tweet directed at the President's former personal
attorney Michael Cohen.\14\ The post stated:
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\14\ISC Report at 3.
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 . . .\15\
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\15\Id.
Later that day, following public backlash for the post,
Representative Gaetz deleted the tweet and stated that it was
not his intent to threaten Mr. Cohen and that he should have
``chosen words that better showed [his] intent.''\16\
Representative Gaetz reiterated that it was not his intent to
threaten Mr. Cohen nor to disrupt his testimony in both
conversations with reporters and in his sworn testimony before
the ISC.\17\ Representative Gaetz also expressed remorse for
his actions, explaining that he was uncomfortable with any
perception that he intended to threaten Mr. Cohen or smear his
family and that his ``tweet did not conform to my own standard
that I maintain for myself and for my conduct.''\18\
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\16\Id. at 4.
\17\Id. at 4-5 (citing Representative Gaetz's sworn testimony that
it ``never occurred'' to him that his tweet would impact Mr. Cohen's
willingness to testify, or the substance of his testimony).
\18\Id. at 4-6 (``I am not comfortable with the language I used,
with the reference that I deployed in this tweet, and that's why, by
virtue of inconsistency with my own standards, I deleted it and
apologized publicly and privately.'').
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The ISC reviewed Representative Gaetz's conduct and did not
find that he had the requisite intent to establish a violation
of the federal criminal statutes prohibiting witness tampering
and obstruction of Congress.\19\ The ISC did find, however,
that Representative Gaetz's conduct violated House Rule XXIII,
clause 1, which requires Members to act at all times in a
manner that reflects creditably in the House.\20\
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\19\As part of its review, the ISC considered Representative
Gaetz's appearance at the Oversight Committee hearing room on the day
of Mr. Cohen's testimony (Representative Gaetz is not a member of the
Oversight Committee). Id. at 5. The ISC similarly did not find that
that his attendance at the hearing demonstrated an intent to improperly
interfere with the proceeding, and noted that ``Members of Congress are
free to attend open congressional hearings for Committees upon which
they do not sit--as are the general public.'' Id. at 9.
\20\Id. at 9-11.
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Not all actions that may influence a witness or otherwise
impact a congressional proceeding are a violation of clause 1.
When such actions foreseeably risk improperly interfering with
such a proceeding, however, they may run afoul of that
provision.\21\ The ISC's Report reflects that 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.
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.
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\21\See Comm. on Ethics, In the Matter of Allegations Relating to
Representative Judy Chu, H. Rept. 113-665, 113th Cong. 2d Sess. 10-11
(2014).
\22\ISC Report at 6.
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As the ISC recognizes in its report, the Committee is not
the social media police. The Committee has acknowledged that
the fast-pace and wide dissemination of electronic
communications, while in some ways a boon to greater
transparency between Members and their constituents, can lead
to embarrassing mistakes and unintended consequences.\23\ Not
every social media misstep requires Committee action. As the
ISC notes, however, the requirement that Members conduct
themselves at all times in a manner that reflects creditably on
the House extends to their electronic communications.\24\
Members are, accordingly, cautioned to exercise sound judgment
when using social media.
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\23\See Comm. on Ethics Memorandum for all Members, Officers and
Employees, Intentional Use of Audio-Visual Distortions & Deep Fakes
(Jan. 28, 2020).
\24\ISC Report at 11.
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Following the publication of this Report, the Committee
will take no further action in this matter, and considers it
closed.
IV. STATEMENT UNDER HOUSE RULE XIII, CLAUSE 3(c)
The Committee made no special oversight findings in this
Report. No budget statement is submitted. No funding is
authorized by any measure in this Report.
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