House Ethics Committee Declines to Whack Rep. Gaetz for Tweeting at Michael Cohen: ‘The Committee is Not the Social Media Police’

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The House Ethics Committee on Friday released a report disclosing that it declined a request to take action against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for a message he wrote on Twitter, writing it “is not the social media police.”

Gaetz wrote a message directed at President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, in February 2019, two months after Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison on charges related to tax evasion and campaign finance violations. “Hey @MichaelCohen212 – Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? 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,” Gaetz wrote at the time.

Gaetz deleted the message later in the day, but the committee said it received a complaint asking it to investigate Gaetz for seeking “to threaten, intimidate, harass, or otherwise improperly influence” Cohen. The committee said in Friday’s report that its investigation — which took more than a year — ended on July 29 with a vote to admonish Gaetz, but that it declined to take further action.

“The committee is not the social media police,” members wrote in their report. “The committee has acknowledged that the fast-pace and wide dissemination of electronic communications, while in some ways a boon to greater transparency between members and their constituents, can lead to embarrassing mistakes and unintended consequences. Not every social media misstep requires committee action.

“However, the requirement that members conduct themselves at all times in a manner that reflects creditably on the House extends to their electronic communications.,” the committee added. “Members are, accordingly, cautioned to exercise sound judgment when using social media.”

The Florida Bar Association in February dismissed a similar complaint filed against Gaetz over the same matter.