Washington DC - A new report claims that Representative Matt Gaetz admitted privately on several occasions that his efforts to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy stemmed from the revival of an ethics complaint against Gaetz.

A private correspondence between Gaetz and an unidentified person was recently given to The Daily Beast.

The correspondence in question reportedly shows that the Florida congressman blamed McCarthy directly for reviving the ethics complaint against Gaetz.

Other Republican sources made similar accusations that Gaetz had openly admitted his actions were a form of payback.

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In March 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor. In February of this year, the department concluded the investigation and decided not to charge Gaetz.

The Ethics Committee, which paused its ongoing investigation as the DOJ conducted its own, reopened theirs in July 2023.

Gaetz blamed then-speaker McCarthy, though McCarthy claimed he did not have control over the committee.

In October 2023, Gaetz led a group of eight Republicans – angry over details of a recently agreed upon budget deal – to vote McCarthy out of his position. McCarthy has long maintained that he believes Gaetz did so because he refused to intervene in the committee's probe.

In response to the report, Gaetz reiterated that he led the effort to oust McCarthy "because he failed to keep his promises."