Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, announced Wednesday that he is filing an ethics complaint against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for tearing up her copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union at the end of the president's address Tuesday night.
"Her conduct was beneath the dignity of the House, and a potential violation of law (18 USC 2071). Nobody is above the law. She must be held accountable," Gaetz tweeted.
At the end of Trump's address, Pelosi tore her copy of the speech in half. She later called Trump's address a "manifesto of mistruths."
"It is hard to overlook the symbolism of such a gesture — the sense that Speaker Pelosi was utterly dismissive of the President's achievements, and more importantly, the achievements of the American people," Gaetz said in the complaint. "Speaker Pelosi's gesture was deeply offense, and appears to violate clauses 1 and 2 of House Rule XXIII ("Code of Official Conduct")."
Gaetz first announced the complaint on Fox News Wednesday night.
Gaetz has represented Florida's 1st congressional district since 2017.
BREAKING: I'm filing an ethics complaint against @SpeakerPelosi for destroying @realDonaldTrump 's State of the Union speech.
Her conduct was beneath the dignity of the House, and a potential violation of law (18 USC 2071).
Nobody is above the law. She must be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/dXPPWQNtI8
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) February 6, 2020
. @SpeakerPelosi ripped the country apart with a sham impeachment and she illustrated it last night by ripping up @realDonaldTrump ’s speech.
I’ll be BREAKING news on @IngrahamAngle tonight at 10pm ET.
It's time for us to fight back. As Democrats say, no one is above the law. pic.twitter.com/yz281135Tl
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) February 5, 2020
This story was originally published by WFTS in Tampa, Florida.
