Matt Gaetz slapped with bar complaint after revelations of alleged teen sex party
New revelations about a sex party that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) allegedly attended with a high school girl have potentially put the Florida Republican's law license in jeopardy.
NOTUS reports that a Florida activist named Chaz Stevens filed a complaint with the Florida Bar alleging that Gaetz had violated the organization's rules against engaging in "criminal conduct," "deceit" and "conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice."
Gaetz did not return requests from NOTUS seeking comment and the Florida Bar did not say whether it would take any action related to the complaint.
That said, two Florida defense lawyers told NOTUS that Gaetz could face sanctions from the bar over the allegations, although they questioned whether the Florida Bar would want to lean into a contentious political dispute.
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"The Bar makes judgment calls,” defense attorney Brian L. Tannebaum said. “They’ll look at something and say: Yes, it’s a violation, but do we really want to go into this? This is not about arguing a legal bill or dealing with a constituent. This is personal conduct... but isn’t this guy in Congress? Are we dipping into an issue regarding politics?”
Defense attorney David Rothman, meanwhile, told NOTUS that Gaetz could get the benefit of the doubt about the allegations given that the United States Department of Justice already investigated them and declined to bring charges.
"He could be sanctioned," he said. "But it’s very rare that a criminal conduct allegation against a lawyer winds up being a Bar case without an attendant criminal investigation and prosecution."