Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who is an ardent defender of President Donald Trump, has been caught in apparent violation of House ethics rules. Specifically, the House bans its members from spending taxpayer dollars on services like speech-writing consulting — but Gaetz did exactly that, spending $28,000 on such a service. Additionally, members of the House are prohibited from accepting “gifts” valued above $50, since after all, an influx of unregulated funds or some other kind of support from a private interest could create a conflict of interest for the member of Congress in question. Yet, Gaetz appears to have accepted a “gift” in the form of a private television studio installed in his father’s home in Florida. A private company which Gaetz’s office has not identified covered the costs for the installation, and the Congressman uses it for television appearances, allegedly paying a small fee of $100 to the installation company every month.
‘Gaetz, a close ally of President Donald Trump from the Florida Panhandle, improperly sent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to a limited liability company linked to a speech-writing consultant who was ousted from the Trump administration, in direct conflict with House rules.’
And the publication adds:
‘In another possible violation, a private company installed a television studio in his father’s home in Niceville, Fla., which Gaetz uses when he appears on television. Taxpayers foot the bill to rent the television camera, and the private company that built the studio — which Gaetz refuses to identify — takes a fee each time he appears on air, his office said. It’s unclear how much it cost the private company to construct the studio.’
It’s worth noting, the “speech-writing” consultant wasn’t just anyone — named Darren Beattie, they had been kicked out of the Trump administration specifically for appearing at the H.L. Mencken Club Conference, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as “a band of white nationalists, pseudo academic and academic racists.” Gaetz’s office has actually admitted to “improperly” sending the money to the speech-writing consultant, as POLITICO reports, and the Congressman’s office claims that after the issues came to light, the money was immediately returned from the consultant.
They tried to downplay the issue, characterizing it as a clerical error regarding the pretext under which the money was paid out in the first place.
Gaetz’s chief of staff Jillian Lane Wyant said:
‘The funds were all immediately returned to the House as soon as the review determined this was not the right way to structure this. This is nothing more than a glorified clerical error – and while it is baffling that Politico should find this newsworthy – it is disappointing Politico plots to demean individuals who’ve made an innocent clerical mistake and are working to correct it.’
That’s incredible — Gaetz’s office improperly spent tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money, and yet, they’re acting like they’re somehow being “demeaned.” Meanwhile, Gaetz’s office has “declined to detail the television studio arrangement or produce documentation that it was approved,” POLITICO explains. What are they hiding?
Gaetz’s behavior, of course, fits right in line with that of his hero, Donald Trump, whose time in office as president has been rocked by a consistent stream of scandals.
