Rep. Matt Gaetz on Capitol Hill this month. By Harry Litman Harry Litman Contributing columnist focused on legal issues Bio Follow Contributing columnist February 27 at 4:11 PM The day before Michael Cohen was due to testify in an open hearing of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Rep. Matt Gaetz tweeted the following:
Prosecutors allege particular crimes and at the end of the day must march through the elements of the relevant statute and prove each one beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case, that means 18 U.S.C. § 1512 — it’s not the only possibly applicable statute, but it’s the most likely one — which makes it a felony to, in pertinent part, threaten or intimidate someone with intent to influence, delay or prevent their testimony in an official proceeding, such as Wednesday’s congressional hearing.
The next pivot point is Gaetz’s intent. Arguably, he was just letting off steam and seeking to score political points, as occurs in our contemporary, debased political debate every day. Could a prosecutor really prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his intent was to influence or delay Cohen’s testimony?
Finally, federal prosecutors often will decline to charge otherwise provable crimes for discretionary reasons. Here, for example, we have a single offending quote in the context of a particularly contentious moment in the Trump-Russia probe. A prosecutor might well conclude that it’s not worth the candle to make a federal case out of it.
Absolutely!
Will he be the next enforcer for trump.He is putting his life on the line.Taking a bullet for him too?
Opinion are like aholes Everyone has one just comes heads are stuck in theirs so perspective is off
No, republicans don’t do anything illegal anymore! Didn’t trump do the same thing? Welcome to the normal!
Does a bear sht in the woods? Does a mosquito suck blood? Does a duck quack? Does the GOP blindly do Trumps bidding? It's as obvious as the orange on Trumps face, a resounding YES!
YES!!!
Yes
Uh dunno yet
You mean, hungover-sick with the stomach flu-got beat up at a frat house last night-Matt Damon? Nahh he still wouldn’t do that.
Yes he did and if he was Black he would be in jail by now. Rich white Male privilege
Yes, it was a threat. My question is does Gaetz have proof and was/is he involved in similar behavior.
Yes, then he prowled around in the hearing room to further intimidate.
Thugs in government.
So this is what grand-standing fame-whoring looks like? Good to know WorstPresidentEver
Yes
Yes he did
NO!
Yes, he did. That's witness tampering. Illegal.
Another Nunes stooge. Cohen didn't offer much in his congressional testimony except as an example of how to act like a stooge for a narcissist.
YES!!! Your carefully-chosen words, RepMattGaetz, clearly showed your intent to intimidate, threaten, and blackmail MichaelCohen212, crimes for which you should be charged, tried, convicted, and punished!
That’s exactly how I read it!
Yes. He publicly posted, in a derogatory way, about his family. The man should be in jail.
Bada bing ...of course
Yes. Lock him up
YES! It’s about time Congress and the law hold these privileged hacks accountable too! The good ol’ days are over!
Vote him out
Lock him up
Most certainly did and is now under investigation. You can't say what Gaetz did and get away with it. At the very least he broke the HOUSE ethics laws
Very disturbing behavior for a politician in the free civilized world. If this was a mob showing, I wouldn’t be as surprised as I am. No place in government for this sort of behavior. Should be removed from office
Hell YES, he did!
Sure looks that way. But does it matter? Trump sets the example and condones this kind of act.
The Achilles Heel of our justice system is the presumption of innocence as it's applied to white men in suits. It's a get out of jail free card.Should Gaetz behavior have legal consequences.Of course. Will it? Let's see; He's white, wearing tie. No consequences. Same for Trump.
Gaetz was certainly thuggish in his behavior. Gosar of LiarLiarPantsonFire fame managed to be juvenile, & something of a prig. A righteous fellow. ;)
Good
YES.
A more relevant question might be, 'Should he have known better?' (Spoiler: The answer's 'yes' to both.)
Auh.. YES! That tweet was not appropriate for him to say anything about Cohen’s family. Matt Gratz is an asshole! And NO... apology is to late! The dirty deed was done.
Yes
Is there a legal way to intimidate someone ?
Yes
Yes
Right out of a scene in the GODFATHER!
Nope, if he did there are a lot of fake journalist in trouble at WP, NBC, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC.
Yes. He deserves to be charged and disbarred
Yes and should be punished for it
Yes.
No, pretty sure he cheated on his wife. He’s that type.
Yes he did and he needs to be charged!
Gaetz most definitely attempted to intimidate Cohen.
Yes he did
Yes he did
Less interrogative. More declarative. Sheesh.
Seems like it!
He did do something .... he apologized and that’s a great thing, these days!
No.
Oh I do hope so.
Gratz should be censored for conduct unbecoming a Congressman.
Yes he did, not only with the tweet but again today when he walked into the hearing room and moved around the room right before the hearing started!
Yes!
Yes! Very shameful coming from a member of Congress! CorruptBlican
Nope, raising issues and telling someone they are thing wrong Lie Rep. Gaetz did isn't a crime unless when we weren't looking thought crimes are on the books.
He did.
LMAO
Yep
'Sure hope nothing happens to that family of yours while your in prison.' Just goddamned blatant witness tampering. LockHimUp mattgaetz
Who cares
YES! 😂
LOCK HIM UP!
Lets 'test' him in the courts.
VOTE👏HIM👏OUT
Now he is a trump thug star all over Twitter for threatening a man's family wonder how he would look in orange?
Does even matter anymore?
Why you gotta put a squirrel down?!
Yes
YES.YES.YES.
This guy looks sleazy and he acts sleazy.
You mean like the media preaching collusion when not one piece of evidence has been found!! For two years! Against realDonaldTrump
lockhimup
Needs to be kicked out of his job
Matt told the truth and would if questioned Cohen on his many affairs he had while married. If you can cheat on your wife then you can cheat while talking and answering questions. Nothing like taking a historic meeting with the President and Kim that people watched on Oan
Probably
Didn’t seem to work. And this guy was an ethics lawyer? Maybe is was how to get around ethics.
No doubt in my mind!
YES!!!
if he threatened his Family...of course!!
Well he's a republican, so you know that the Senate will not say a word about it.
repmattgaetz a licensed attorney in Florida. His Bar No is 48962. He violated 18 U.S.C. § 1512. He could b charged with a felony 4 witness tampering but this is also grounds 4 disbarment. Florida Bar if you like to file an official complaint. 1-866-352-0707.
Give it a rest 🤣🤣🤣
Yes and he should be prosecuted by the FBI
Well of course he did!
Without question!!!!
YES
I feel he did. I most certainly would have felt intimidated.
This scumbag showed up at the hearing today and walked through just so MichaelCohen212 would see him. Except he’s not even on the damned committee.... Bring this Trump tribalist up on charges and get him outta Washington.
Y'all didn't give a crap when AOC threatened don Jr
Give us all a break Please ! You didn’t get the dirt you wanted so now you’re going to blame a Republican . Yet you wonder why you’re labeled Enemy of the People .
He tried, don't think he has enough power to intimidate Cohen.
Hope so. Lock him up!
Yes he did.
No.
oscarbeaglesmom Why, yes...yes he did. Now, whatever shall be done about it? 🤔
Was he legally convicted of a DUI? YES. Same answer to intimidating Cohen
Yes, yes, yes! You or I would have been arrested
Is there such a thing as legally intimidating someone?
Why yes, yes he did. And then he stood in the hearing room trying to look intimidating.
YES.
Yes he did with trump balls juice all over his face
Yes, I am longer a rep - You guys are disgusting!
YES!!!!!
There's no doubt it was a threat. Whether you can prove the intent was to keep him from testifying or testifying truthfully is another matter entirely.
Better question❗️Is the Post completely biased against all Republicans⁉️
Gaetz has friends in low places...
yes GaetzResign
Yes he needs to be prosecuted
Is the sky blue?
Yes he did !
Did HRC illegally destroy 30k emails?
He sure did ! A total disgrace for a member of Congress and a violation of his oath as an attorney ! He should be disbarred and removed from Congress !
Yes.
He needs to be disbarred & ousted from the Congress.
Of course he did. But remember “it’s Florida, Jake” My apologies to Robert Towne
Plain and simple......YES!
Yes
Yes.
well, he tried
This isn’t Jeopardy. You don’t need to phrase your correct answer in the form of a question.
Did the press knowingly participate in an attempted soft coup?
fakenewswapo
Are you suggesting it might be legal to intimidate and tamper with a witness?
Yes..Watch here
Is a bear catholic ? Does the Pope shit in the woods ? Of course it was intimidation. Pretty lame attempt if you ask me
If he did it seems it was not an effective play
Disbar him. Unacceptable behavior.
Yep
“Illegally”?! Can he intimidate someone “legally”?
Prison.
What is WRONG with the people of his district? This dry-drunk (or maybe still drunk) creep is why the GOP is going the way of the Whigs as young people, people of color, and feeling/educated people or any age or color reject their sick brand of hatred. Buh-bye!
Matt is IDIOT
Yes
Is the pope a Catholic? Gaetz plainly attempted to intimidate Cohen from freely and fully testifying before the Oversight Committee. That is a federal crime and there is no legislative immunity to shield him from criminal liability. He should be both disbarred and indicted.
Trumps bully
No!!
No.
Absolutely. He should be brought up on charges.
My advice to any future criminals, get elected into some Republican office and move to Washington, D.C.!
In context of today's politics? Nope. Low octane attempt.
He should come before a state court
Yeap
Did AOC illegally pay her boyfriend? Yes! Go research and write on that.
That's absolutely ridiculous, but liberals always hear what they want to hear
Yes he did
Did that answer the question
Gaetz is a hitman for the Don.
YES!Lock him up!
HARD YES!! Since he is not likely to remove himself from office he should be removed right away.
Yes but the Don will protect him
Yes.
Yes
Similarly, the president’s Tweets have been repeatedly construed as “obstruction” of the Mueller investigation. Increasingly, support for the First Amendment stops where social media begins. The slippery slope has arrived. And no, the First Amendment as we know it won't survive.
Why didn't the press act this way to all the republicans the left has been attacking.
Yes
Then what do you call it when all the Dems who attack Trump, his staff & family daily? Giving their opinions? No, I call it what they are, Personal attacks & real intimidation on Trump, staff & family. Think of what crazy Maxine Waters said. Force them to run every time U C them.
Also, he keeps some weird company which does the same
No, if it is true, the American people have a right to know. Well, that is what the democrats say
Yes!
WP likes liars!
Easy. yes
It would appear that way.
Yes
If you look closely you can see Lanny Davis’s hand make Michael Cohen’s lips move....
As opposed to legally intimidating him?!
YESSSS
No
Yes, he did. How the hell did this clown get elected?
Hell no
Yes!
he certainly tried but did not succeed.
No.
Yes Next question.
mattgaetz is a thug
he tried to for sure. anybody else would of done it they would of bee arrested
Gaetz not alone on Twitter bullying Cohen.
Not very well.
Opinion yes.
White supremacists angst....like the supreme NK leader....
That would be a hard yes. Yes to the power of hell yeah. Yes factorial (Yes!).
Technically speaking? Yes. Legally speaking? Yes. Realistically speaking? YES!!!
Yes. Next question?
Did AdamSchiff witness tamper by meeting with MichaelCohen212 MichaelCohen before today's hearing?
Yes! He was prolly drinking again as usual! And beating women!!!!!
He’s just a skumbag calling out another skumbag don’t see what the problem is... The president is also a skumbag and every president before is a skumbag as well
Oh, found Biff.
Was a low cheap blow - but a trumpesque move.
Fact: no.
So now corrupt media is defending that liar? If what he said illegal, then shut your doors WaPo... you are inflammatory, corrupt 24/7
yes
He’s an idiot, but no.
How can he legally do it?
Nope . Next
Yes. Yes he did.
Does he really have 7 DUIs?
I'm not a lawyer but I think so. If that veiled threat was not illegal then it should be especially when said (tweeted) by a sitting member of Congress.
Pffffft give me a break!!!
The swamp needs to be unpacked
Yes
YES
Yes
Yes
Yes, yes he did
mattgaetz you got the publicity you so wanted!
1. I do not think that little drunk is going to intimidate Cohen. 2. However, he may have attempted to illegally intimidate Mr. Cohen.
MattGaetzShouldResign
Narrator: Yes... yes he did.
Why won’t y’all tag him?
Yes, and I also think he's on some hard drugs.
Who cares.
That's kinda for Michael Cohen to answer, isn't it?
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