[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 
                                
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                 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

                              ----------                              

                          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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                     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:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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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