Gaetz claims House Ethics panel opened ‘new frivolous investigations’ into him

Rep. Matt Gaetz claimed Monday the House Ethics Committee has opened “new” investigations into him, which he called “frivolous.”

Earlier this year, the Ethics panel subpoenaed the Justice Department for information tied to an existing investigation into the Florida Republican by the committee. That probe began in 2021 and was examining allegations including sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

Gaetz has maintained his innocence through multiple ethics inquiries and alleges the panel is using investigations against him as retribution for spearheading the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last fall.

“This is Soviet,” Gaetz posted on social media Monday.

The Justice Department closed its long-running sex trafficking investigation into Gaetz and declined to charge him back in early 2023. Gaetz was admonished in 2020 for a threatening 2019 tweet directed at Michael Cohen, then-President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, but the situation “did not violate witness tampering and obstruction of Congress laws,” according to the panel’s report at the time.

The Ethics Committee, which is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Gaetz’s disclosure.