Ethics Complaint Is Filed Against Speaker Pelosi

UNITED STATES−An ethics complaint has been filed against Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) after she tore an official signed copy of President Trump’s speech on February 4, at the State of the Union address in Washington D.C.

On February 5, Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) wrote:

“I’m filing an ethics complaint against @SpeakerPelosi for destroying @DonaldTrump’s State of the Union speech. Her conduct was beneath the dignity of the house and a potential violation of the law (18 USC 2071). Nobody is above the law. She must be held accountable,” Gaetz Tweeted.

In an interview on, “The Ingraham Angle” Gaetz announced that he would be joining two others, Reps. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) and Kay Granger (R-TX) filing charges with the House Ethics Committee on Thursday, February 6.

In an official letter, Gaetz wrote to Chairmen of the Ethics Committee, Theodore Deutch and Kenny Marchant citing “a flagrant violation of decorum, as defined in clauses 1 and 2 of House Rule XXIII the (Code of Official Conduct).”

He continued with a request of criminal referral for her potential violation of U.S.C. 2071 (concealment, removal, and mutilation of documents). Gaetz wrote, “Her unseemly behavior certainly warrants censure.”

In the two-page document, Gaetz wrote of Pelosi willingly destroying an official document in violation of the above aforementioned clause in the Code of Conduct. President Trump supplied Speaker Pelosi with the copy prior to speaking.

Pelosi can be seen fiddling with pages of the speech, while the President was speaking. She appeared to be mouthing something. Vice President Mike Pence publicly clarified that Pelosi was talking to him, but Pence indicated he was not listening to her, but to the President.

In another instance, the Speaker of the House appeared to be giving hand gestures to someone in the back of the room. Prior to being handed the President’s speech, Pelosi extended her hand to the Commander in Chief who refused to shake her hand.

When the President finished his address, Pelosi stood and ripped all four pages of the speech.

In President Trump’s speech, he honored Jody Jones, brother to Rocky Jones who was murdered by an illegal immigrant in California who had been arrested five times.  Jody said in an interview following the event that Pelosi, “Ripped our hearts out with her actions.”

Upon exiting the State of the Union, a “Now This” reporter asked Pelosi why she ripped the document, to which Pelosi responded, “Because it was a manifesto of mistruths. It was the courteous thing to do considering the alternative.”