Florida Rep Matt Gaetz Under Investigation by Florida Bar

Well, this is a bit of good news for the day, and here’s hoping justice is served.

So on Tuesday night, I asked the question: Did Florida Representative Matt Gaetz attempt to intimidate a witness in a federal investigation?

The answer was an unequivocal YES.

Specifically, on the night before former attorney and fixer for Donald Trump, Michael Cohen was to sit and give public testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, the obedient Trump mouthpiece lobbed an open threat into the Twittersphere, while directly addressing Cohen’s marriage.

“Hey @MichaelCohen212 — Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends?” Gaetz tweeted on Tuesday. “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…”

Only in the age of Trumpism.

This was out and out thuggery, and unbecoming of the office he (Gaetz) holds.

So here’s the thing about Matt Gaetz: He’s also a lawyer, having received his law degree in 2007 from William and Mary.

The news that has come out today is that the Florida Bar have moved quick on Gaetz’s Tuesday night idiocy, and have opened an investigation into his hateful behavior.

Francine Walker, a spokesperson for the Florida Bar, confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday that the state’s bar association has opened an investigation into whether Gaetz, a licensed attorney, violated professional conduct rules.

“If rules have been violated, The Florida Bar will vigorously pursue appropriate discipline by the Florida Supreme Court,” Walker said in a statement. “The Florida Bar takes its responsibility of regulating lawyer conduct very seriously.”

I think it is safe to say that there was nothing professional about his conduct, unless his profession is hired mob hitman.

What are the rules of professional conduct, according to the Florida Bar?

The Florida Bar’s rules of professional conduct state that lawyers “should conform to the requirements of the law, both in professional service to clients and in the lawyer’s business and personal affairs” and “should use the law’s procedures only for legitimate purposes and not to harass or intimidate others.”

The emphasis there is mine.

Of course, when asked if what he did amounted to witness intimidation, Gaetz created some ambiguous terminology, noted as “witness testing.”

There’s no such thing.

With his bravado, meant only for the purpose of impressing an audience of one, Gaetz apparently hoped to draw away from the fact that this could be big trouble for him.

His really dumb tweet/threat was met with a quick reprimand from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi called on the House Ethics Committee to “vigilantly monitor” the online activities of House members who have no self-control.

Gaetz deleted the tweet, then attempted to answer Pelosi’s statement with an excuse.

“While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did,” Gaetz tweeted late Tuesday. “I’m deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. I’m sorry.”

By sneaking in another dig at Cohen, you did not help your case with the Florida Bar or with citizens that actually expect their representatives to act like reasonable human beings and not attack dogs for Trump.

Speaker, I want to get the truth too. While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. I’m deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. I’m sorry. https://t.co/Rdbw3sTQJD

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 27, 2019

There may be nothing that can be done, short of the Florida people raising up and voting the chubby weasel out of office, but I would hope that when he’s voted out, he no longer has a career in law, given his obvious lack of common sense and decorum.