(WASHINGTON) — The House Ethics Committee has issued a subpoena for the testimony of a former girlfriend of Rep. Matt Gaetz as part of the panel’s ongoing investigation into the Florida Republican.
The committee is demanding Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend appear before the committee over a Zoom call on Feb. 29, according to a letter sent to the woman’s lawyer.
The woman, who ABC News is not identifying, had previously been contacted by the committee about voluntarily sitting for an interview and had informed the committee that she had planned to “plead the fifth” on any questions related to the former congressman, a source familiar told ABC News.
“Of course we will comply with the subpoena and we will appear before the committee,” the woman’s lawyer, Tim Jansen, told ABC News.
“I can confirm I received a subpoena on behalf of my client. We will certainly appear before the committee as required. However, we have informed the Staff that my client will be invoking her Fifth Amendment right before the Committee,”
The House committee has not responded to a request for comment on the matter.
Sources familiar with the committee’s work tell ABC News that House investigators are interested in speaking with the ex-girlfriend about allegations that Gaetz paid for sex, and about allegations of drug use, and potential lobbying violations.
Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend, who previously worked on Capitol Hill, allegedly has knowledge not only regarding the congressman but also the one-time minor at the center of the sex trafficking investigation eventually closed by the Department of Justice without charging Gaetz. The ex was also one of the women who was allegedly on a 2018 trip to the Bahamas with Gaetz and others, including the minor, which the House ethics committee is also investigating, sources said.
ABC News previously reported that since the start of the year, the committee investigating Gaetz had also reached out to numerous other witnesses, including the woman who allegedly had sex with the congressman when she was a minor, and Joel Greenberg, the one-time close friend of Gaetz who was sentenced to 11-years in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges, sources told ABC News.
Gaetz has blasted the Ethic Committee for “trying to weaponize their process.”
“The Ethics Committee is engaging in payback against me for ousting the person who singularly appointed every Republican – Kevin McCarthy,” Gaetz said in a statement to ABC News Thursday night when asked about the latest development.
“I see through this sham and the American people will too,” Gaetz added. “Exposing witch hunts is kind of my thing around here.”
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