Matt Gaetz Ethics Complaint Allegations—What We Know

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's motion to dismiss fellow Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has reopened wounds between GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz and former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, with refreshed allegations that Gaetz sought McCarthy's help to quiet an ethics probe investigating his conduct.

McCarthy told CBS this weekend that the motion filed by Gaetz to dismiss him as Speaker had been part of a plan to shut down the ethics probe.

Newsweek has reached out to the offices of Gaetz and McCarthy via email for comment on Sunday afternoon.

What Was Said?

Speaking at a Republican conference on Sunday, amid the newest motion to dismiss a House Speaker, McCarthy said, "The one advice I would give to the conference and to the Speaker is: Do not be fearful of a motion to vacate.

"I do not think they could do it again. That was surely based on Matt Gaetz trying to stop an ethics complaint."

Asked by CBS News' Face the Nation, McCarthy claimed that Gaetz had previously told him to "do something illegal to stop the Ethics Committee from moving forward in an investigation that was started long before I became a Speaker."

McCarthy made a distinction between Gaetz and Greene, the latter of whom he said was open to discussion on "difference of opinion."

"The one thing I've always found, when you sit down with a member and talk to them, find out what their concerns are, especially when it's based upon policy, you can solve that problem," McCarthy said.

"And I watched that with Marjorie, from the vote to Speaker to the vote for the Fiscal Responsibility Act. There's times she [had] a difference of opinion, and you sit down and find common ground."

"Matt's case was much different. It was about a personal thing that he had done, and that's what he was trying to get something illegally stopped ... .

"I think the Ethics Committee, it was purely Matt coming to me, trying [to get] me to do something illegal to stop the Ethics Committee from moving forward [with] an investigation that was started long before I became Speaker."

McCarthy has previously alleged that Gaetz's motion to vacate was motivated by the ethics probe.

"We all know it's the ethics complaint on Gaetz," McCarthy said in December 2023, according to reporting by The Daily Beast and The Washington Examiner. "He's doing everything to make sure it doesn't come out, and he doesn't care about anything else. People study that type of crazy mind, right? Mainly, the FBI."

What ethics investigation?

A probe was launched dating back to 2021 investigating allegations that Gaetz had "engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use and accepted impermissible gifts under House rules, among other allegation."

The Florida representative was previously investigated by the DOJ that he trafficked and engaged in sex with a minor. Charges were dropped and Gaetz has maintained his innocence.

The House ethics probe, which was paused during the DOJ investigation, remains active.

What have others said?

Speaking to NBC News over the weekend, South Carolina Republican Rep. Ralph Norman, disputed McCarthy's recollection, saying he witnessed an unfriendly conversation on the House floor between McCarthy and Gaetz where he was told an ethics investigation had been brought up.

Norman recalled Gaetz saying McCarthy had asked him if he wanted an ethics investigation to "go away" but did not say what he wanted in return.

"I don't think it even got that far," Norman told NBC News. "The only thing Matt said was, 'Kevin said, 'Do you need the ethics violation to go away?' "

Norman opposed Gaetz's motion to dismiss McCarthy as Speaker in 2023.

McCarthy called Norman's comments "b*******" and said that Gaetz had brought up the ethics probe.

"Apparently he got a letter from Ethics asking for documents. ... I told him, 'I don't know anything about this,' " McCarthy told NBC News

"I told him, 'You gotta talk to [Ethics Committee Chair Michael] Guest.'"

What is happening with the latest motion to dismiss the Speaker?

Greene, the highly outspoken GOP lawmaker from Georgia, introduced a motion to vacate Johnson shortly after the passage of a $1.2 trillion spending package. On Friday, a 286-134 House vote approved the package—led by Johnson—to avert a government shutdown, just hours before several federal agencies' funding was set to expire.

Greene said she was "done" with Johnson saying the bill's passage was "the worst possible scenario for Republicans."

The resolution will not be considered until after Congress' two-week recess.

The Senate quickly followed the House in passing the spending measure and President Joe Biden signed the government funding bill over the weekend.