Nancy Pelosi Tearing Up State Of The Union Address May Have Broken The Law, GOP Lawmaker Says
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican, believes that Nancy Pelosi‘s decision to tear up her copy of Donald Trump’s State of the Union address may have violated the law, a concern he plans to bring to the attention of the House Ethics committee.
As Fox News reports, the House Judiciary committee member revealed on Wednesday that he was filing ethics charges against the House speaker. He said he believes she violated House rules and may have even broken the law.
He sent a letter to the House Committee on Ethics requesting an investigation be opened into her conduct.
“[Pelosi] disgraced the House of Representatives, she embarrassed our country and she destroyed official records. The law does not allow the Speaker of the House to destroy the records of the House and the rules of the House do not permit some little temper tantrum just because you don’t like what the president of the United States says,” he said.
He also announced his own “breaking” news report on social media, posting a copy of the complaint on Twitter.
“BREAKING: I’m filing an ethics complaint against @SpeakerPelosi for destroying @realDonaldTrump’s State of the Union speech,” he wrote. “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 went on to add that, by ripping up the address, she “obliterated” it, which is against the statute cited in his tweet and complaint.
.@RepMattGaetz says he will be filing ethics charges against Speaker Pelosi for destroying “official records” when she tore up Pres. Trump’s #SOTU speech
pic.twitter.com/xurHHsERbI— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 6, 2020
Gaetz asserted there is a double standard in Washington, D.C. that must be put to an end. While speaking with Fox News, he claimed the California Democrat had an impulse problem.
He was joined on the program by New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, who claimed Pelosi was “poisoning” the House of Representatives and the United States. He also claimed the Democratic Party had been taken over by the far left.
Pelosi has gotten praise for her dramatic display, but she has also been criticized by some people, a divide in opinion that has been largely falling along party lines.
Pelosi defended her decision, saying that she felt compelled to rip up the document because it was full of lies. The viral moment occurred after Trump refused to shake the House leader’s hand prior to giving his address.
Still, Pelosi said, Democrats will always be willing to work with Republicans to do the best thing for the country. She added that she didn’t plan to invite Trump to give another State of the Union address, because she didn’t believe he would be in office for the next one.
