Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is “innocent until proven guilty” in the House Ethics Committee’s probe into the lawmaker following allegations of sexual misconduct, the House GOP leader said Thursday.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made the remarks in response to a question from a reporter about whether Gaetz will be removed from the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department that launched an investigation into the allegations against him.
According to internal House GOP rules, lawmakers charged with serious felonies have their committee memberships stripped.
“Matt Gaetz is the same as any American, he’s innocent until proven guilty,” McCarthy responded. “There’s no charges against him yet. If a charge comes forward, that will be dealt with at that time.”
A subsequent NY Times report alleged Gaetz and his friend, former Florida county tax collector Joel Greenberg, paid women who were recruited for sex online and may have involved illegal drugs as well.
The second-term Florida congressman denies all the allegations and says he and his family are being targeted for extortion.
“The planted leak to The New York Times tonight was intended to thwart that investigation. No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets of the ongoing extortion investigation. I demand the DOJ immediately release the tapes, made at their direction, which implicate their former colleague in crimes against me based on false allegations,” Gaetz added.
When asked whether Republicans would act against Gaetz before an indictment if new information surfaces, the House GOP leader brushed it off as a “hypothetical question.”
“I‘ll deal with whatever issue as it comes. As of right now, Matt Gaetz says he is innocent, there’s an investigation going on and I’ll let the investigation take care of itself,” McCarthy said.