House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing an ethics complaint from Florida congressman Matt Gaetz for tearing up her copy of President Trump’s speech during the State of the Union address on Tuesday. Gaetz alleges that Pelosi broke the law.
After listening to Trump’s state of the union address for over an hour, Pelosi stood up and, in front of cameras and the watching congress, tore her own copy of Trump’s speech.
Gaetz, a close ally of Trump, condemned Pelosi’s gesture as “beneath the dignity of the House and a potential violation of law (18 USC 2071),” and called for her resignation.
On Twitter, Gaetz shared that he has submitted a letter to the top two lawmakers on the House ethics committee, arguing that Pelosi’s alleged violation of the law could result in up to 3 years imprisonment.
In accordance with law 18 USC 2071, the violation carries a penalty of “up to three years in prison for ‘whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys… any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office.'”
See the documents below.
