Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who’s a relative newcomer in the House after an initial election in 2016 alongside Donald Trump and has shilled for the president ever since, has been caught using nearly $200,000 in taxpayer money to rent an office from a longtime family friend at a rate that may be below market value. Besides the ethics issues of a renting deal personalized to a Congressman like a favor worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, House rules don’t even allow for members to rent their district offices from individuals with whom they have legal or professional relationships outside of landlord and tenant. But Gaetz, who’s a lawyer, has even represented his landlord at least twice.
Matt Gaetz has paid almost $200,000 in taxpayer funds renting an office from a longtime friend, donor and legal client. Gaetz paid below market rent for the space.
House rules prohibit this. https://t.co/TynFLwGQ2T
— Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) April 17, 2020
The landlord in question is Collier Merrill, who POLITICO identifies as “a Pensacola real estate developer and restaurateur.” Over a period stretching back to Gaetz’s initial beginning of work in Congress in 2017, the Congressman “has paid more than $184,000 to Merrill’s Empire Partners LLC to rent the entire sixth-floor in the Seville Tower, a historic building in downtown Pensacola, according to House disbursement records.” In separate interviews, both Gaetz and Merrill said that the rent paid was below market rates — which constitutes, of course, a hugely financially valuable, secretive favor for a member of Congress.
FIRST read this @JakeSherman @BresPolitico story on @RepMattGaetz renting office space from a donor at taxpayer expense. https://t.co/ZB6J2HnM77
NEXT read Gaetz’ Twitter thread calling it a BURR plant.
THEN read this *1 year old* email disproving Gaetz’ wild accusation. https://t.co/kgfb7qm1Zi pic.twitter.com/ZMfNs6iev2
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) April 17, 2020
Perhaps conscious of the legal peril that he was putting himself in, Gaetz eventually changed his story and told POLITICO that the rent he’s been paying was “at or below market rate.” Either way, House rules explicitly state that all district office renting deals must be “at fair market value as the result of a bona fide, arms-length, marketplace transaction.” The point of that rule, of course, is to keep members of Congress from ending up owing any kind of debt to any special interest for a favor.
Here’s that story: “Matt Gaetz rents office space from longtime friend and donor — at taxpayer expense” https://t.co/r7UGem7W75
Burr had nothing to do w this story. Here’s an email from a year ago when I found this connection https://t.co/jIRMm77Glm https://t.co/iEUOxYqHLR
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 17, 2020
According to House rules, those involved in a district office renting agreement for a member must “certify that the parties are not relatives nor have had, or continue to have, a professional or legal relationship (except as a landlord and tenant).”
Gaetz’s relationship with Merrill includes fundraisers that the Congressman attended at the developer’s restaurants and, further back, legal representation in a 2009 case involving a dispute over a boat sale and in a case more recently over a noise complaint. The Gaetzs first met Merrill in 1994 — the developer’s relationship with Matt’s father, Don, includes past advocacy for his candidacy to run the University of North Florida.
Amazing to see so many Republican Cult House/Senate members who, referred to COVID-19 as a hoax, appointed to help fix the damage THEY did. (e.g. Gaetz, Paul, Loeffler & her stock theft). You can’t start a fire & then claim you’re a hero helping to put it out. https://t.co/SDIVqAO6DZ
— Cheryl Burke (@CherylB50131515) April 16, 2020
Gaetz claimed that he “did not feel he needed to disclose his long relationship with Merrill to the House,” as POLITICO summarizes, although House rules specifically demand such disclosures. He alleged that the piece about the agreement is just a “smear” campaign.
Rep. Matt Gaetz has spent nearly $200,000 in taxpayer funds renting an office from a longtime friend, adviser, campaign donor and legal client. Gaetz paid below market rent for the space.
House rules explicitly state such arrangements are not allowed. https://t.co/1ieEcJ3VyV
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) April 17, 2020
It’s not the first time when Gaetz has acted like he’s free to belligerently ignore the rules because he felt like it — during the impeachment proceedings against Trump, he helped lead a contingent of Congressional Republicans who barged into a secure hearing room and staged a melodramatic sit-in protest. They were complaining about getting excluded, although in line with Congressional precedent, members of the hearing-hosting committee from both parties were in the room. Gaetz, outside the committee, wasn’t about to get invited in just because he “said so.”
