Gaetz’s office has denied wrongdoing in a statement to CNN, arguing that when it came to paying the LLC, “the contract deal was approved by the necessary House authorities, a second review by the Finance Office. determined that services could not be recruited in exactly that fashion and our office is currently working through the best way to proceed with both the Finance Committee and the House Ethics Committee. “
“All funds were immediately returned to the House as soon as the review determined that this was not the correct way to structure this. This is nothing more than a glorified clerical error,” the office said.
CNN asked Gaetz’s office if he had orientation documentation that he had initially received from the House authorities he was referring to, but CNN had not received documentation until Wednesday night.
Charlie Dent, former chair of the House Ethics Committee and CNN contributor, told CNN that it would be a problem if a member were found to be paying an outside speechwriter.
“If you were paying an outside speechwriter, that’s a mistake. You are supposed to have a press secretary and (legislative) staff to help you with the speeches,” Dent said. “It appears that the use of taxpayer funds to write speeches is a violation of House rules, and that could warrant a sanction by the Ethics Committee.”
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