House Ethics panel probing Matt Gaetz obstruction, has issued 25 subpoenas

The House Ethics Committee said Tuesday it is investigating whether Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) attempted to obstruct investigations into his conduct, is dropping some other lines of inquiry into him and has issued 25 subpoenas in matters related to the congressman .

In a rare public update on the investigation, the committee said that the high-profile investigation into the firebrand Florida congressman was the subject of “a significant and unusual amount of public reporting” and that “many of these reports were inaccurate.”

“Despite the difficulty in obtaining relevant information from Representative Gaetz and others, the Committee spoke to more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas, and reviewed thousands of pages of documents on this matter. Based on its review to date, the Committee has determined that some of the allegations merit ongoing review,” the committee stated. “During its investigation, the Committee also identified additional allegations that warrant review.”

It continues to investigate whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use or accepted inappropriate gifts, issues it began investigating in April 2021, the panel said.

The commission also confirmed new lines of investigation: whether Gaetz “distributed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship” and “sought to obstruct government investigations into his conduct.”

At the same time, the House panel said it will take no further action on whether Gaetz shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, improperly used state identification records, converted campaign funds for personal use, or accepted bribes or improper gratuities.

Gaetz “categorically denied all allegations brought before the Committee,” he said.

The 42-year-old Republican appeared respond preventively to the Ethics Committee on Monday, saying the “frivolous new investigations” were based on “lies.”

“The House Ethics Committee has closed four investigations into me that arose from lies designed only to defame me. Instead of working with me to ban stock trading in Congress, the Ethics Committee is now opening new frivolous investigations. They are doing this to avoid the obvious fact that every investigation into me ends the same way: my exoneration,” Gaetz wrote Monday in a post on social platform X.

“This is Soviet. Kevin McCarthy showed them the man and now they are trying to figure out the crime. I work for Northwest Floridians who will not be swayed by this nonsense and McCarthy and his henchmen know it,” Gaetz said.

The Ethics Committee added in its Tuesday statement: “The Committee is confident in the integrity of its process.”

The House investigations into Gaetz grew out of a Justice Department investigation into him, which was first revealed in early 2021, allegedly based in part on the fact that he had a sexual relationship with an underage girl. An Ethics Committee investigation was opened soon after, also examining whether he shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor and engaged in the use of illicit drugs.

Gaetz vigorously denied the allegations. And in 2023, the Department of Justice declined to prosecute Gaetz.

But the Ethics Committee reignited investigations into him, including when talking to former associates and allegedly seeking materials of the Department of Justice.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) Gaetz repeatedly said led the charge to remove him from the presidency last year due to anger over the Ethics Committee investigation against him, insisting he would stay out of the panel’s investigation. Gaetz, McCarthy charged, wanted him to stop the investigation.

Gaetz said his motivation for removing McCarthy was more out of concerns about his “truthfulness” than the Ethics investigation.

The Ethics Committee added that “the mere fact of an investigation into these allegations does not, in itself, indicate that any violation has occurred.”

“No further public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules,” the Ethics panel said.