The night before Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen (who is now in prison), testified before Congress, Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz sent a very ill-advised tweet that could not be seen as anything other than a direct threat to Cohen, a clear attempt to intimidate a witness. Here’s a look back at that now-deleted tweet.
Few members of Congress have rallied to Donald Trump’s side as much as Matt Gaetz has. The two have traveled together, and Gaetz regularly uses Trump’s language about “fake news.” He no doubt sees Trump as his ticket to—something. Why else would he threaten Michael Cohen?
Nearly three months after that threatening tweet, the Florida Bar Association has determined that Gaetz’s actions warrant further investigation. From the Tampa Bay Times:
An investigation into U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz will proceed, the Florida Bar said Wednesday, meaning the Panhandle Republican could face discipline for allegedly intimidating President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen.
A grand jury-like panel called the Grievance Committee will next decide whether there is probable cause that Gaetz’s tweet violated Florida rules for lawyers. Gaetz is licensed to practice law in Florida.
To be clear, the Florida Bar had a chance to put this to rest, and instead determined it would not simply move on.
In moving the case against Gaetz to this step, the Florida Bar is also signaling that its initial review determined that the allegations against Gaetz would, if proven true, be a violation of the state’s rules for lawyers.
Even if the Florida Bar determines that Gaetz should lose his law license, he would likely appeal. I’m not a Florida legal expert, but it appears an appeal would go to the Florida Supreme Court for the final say. The Florida Supreme Court is comprised of seven judges; all seven are Republicans. By itself, that is an extremely problematic issue, for another day.
So, Rep. Florida Man may face an embarrassing investigation, but it seems unlikely that he’ll be held accountable for his actions at the end of the day.
Democrats absolutely must start making gains in the Sunshine State.