Ethics panel probing alleged Gaetz obstruction, has issued 25 subpoenas

The House Ethics Committee said Tuesday it is probing whether Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) sought to obstruct investigations into his conduct, is dropping some other lines of investigation into him and has issued 25 subpoenas in matters surrounding the congressman.

In a rare public update about the investigation, the committee said the high-profile probe into the firebrand Florida congressman has been the subject of “a significant and unusual amount of public reporting,” and that “much of that reporting has been inaccurate.”

“Notwithstanding the difficulty in obtaining relevant information from Representative Gaetz and others, the Committee has spoken with more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas, and reviewed thousands of pages of documents in this matter. Based on its review to date, the Committee has determined that certain of the allegations merit continued review,” the committee said. “During the course of its investigation, the Committee has also identified additional allegations that merit review.”

It is continuing to investigate whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, engaged in illicit drug use or accepted improper gifts, matters it first started investigating in April 2021, the panel said.

The committee also confirmed new lines of inquiry: whether Gaetz “dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship” and “sought to obstruct government investigations of 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, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use or accepted a bribe or improper gratuity.

Gaetz has “has categorically denied all of the allegations before the Committee,” it said.

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

“The House Ethics Committee has closed four probes into me, which emerged from lies intended solely to smear me. Instead of working with me to ban Congressional stock trading, 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 the social platform X. 

“This is Soviet. Kevin McCarthy showed them the man, and they are now trying to find the crime. I work for Northwest Floridians who won’t be swayed by this nonsense and McCarthy and his goons 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 Department of Justice probe into him that was first revealed in early 2021, reportedly based in part on whether he had a sexual relationship with an underage girl. An Ethics Committee probe opened shortly after, also examining whether he shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor and engaged in illicit drug use.

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

But the Ethics Committee revived the investigations into him, including by speaking to former associates and reportedly seeking materials from the Department of Justice.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has repeatedly said Gaetz led the charge to remove him from the Speakership last year due to anger about the Ethics Committee probe against him, insisting that he was staying out of the panel’s investigation. Gaetz, McCarthy charged, wanted him to stop the probe. 

Gaetz has said his motivation to remove McCarthy was out of concerns about his “truthfulness” rather than the Ethics investigation.

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

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