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Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz files ethics complaint against Pelosi for destroying Trump's SOTU speech

Posted at 7:49 AM, Feb 06, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-06 09:30:46-05

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has announced he is filing an ethics complaint against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for destroying President Trump's State of the Union speech 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," the Republican tweeted.

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

At the end of President Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday, Pelosi was seen on camera ripping the speech in half. She later called the speech 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")."

He first announced the complaint on FOX News Wednesday night.

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

Gaetz has represented Florida's 1st congressional district since 2017.