Rep. Matt Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend subpoenaed by House Ethics Committee and is expected to plead the Fifth later this month
Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz leaves the US Capitol on February 15.
By Paula Reid, CNN
(CNN) — The House Ethics Committee investigating Rep. Matt Gaetz has subpoenaed his ex-girlfriend who was a key witness in the federal investigation into the Florida lawmaker, according to her lawyer Tim Jansen.
She is scheduled to testify, via a video call, on February 29, and Jansen said she will invoke the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The woman, a former Capitol Hill staffer, has been linked to Gaetz as far back as the summer of 2017. Investigators were interested in that time frame because that is when the congressman is accused of having sexual contact with another woman, who was 17 years old at the time.
CNN has reached out to Gaetz for comment on the subpoena, which was first reported by ABC News.
A spokesperson for the House Ethics Committee declined to comment on the matter.
The ex-girlfriend was granted immunity in the federal criminal probe and testified before a grand jury in January 2022.
That federal probe concluded in 2023 with no charges brought against the congressman. Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including ever having sex with a minor or paying for sex.
The-CNN-Wire
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