Lights go out on Matt Gaetz as he talks about politicization of DOJ

The public is in the dark on how the lights went out during a Thursday meeting of the House Judiciary Committee as Rep. Matt Gaetz was speaking.

Gaetz was in the middle of a story about a federal law enforcement officer telling him not everyone in law enforcement was guilty of “these terrible things that we see in our organization” and expressing optimism that “there was a real whistleblower who stood up to tell us what was really going on” when the lights went out, leaving the Florida Republican and everyone attending the meeting in darkness.

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“Well, I wonder who that is,” Gaetz asked out loud.

Gaetz was encouraged to keep talking, even though the sudden interruption was “a little bit like a Twitter moment,” likely a reference to Gaetz’s allies, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, being locked out of their Twitter accounts for alleged infringements of the terms of use.

The chairman was asked by an unidentified speaker whether Gaetz could have an additional minute to make up for the interruption. Someone was heard saying Gaetz’s time would be suspended, as the meeting did not have a clock yet for his speaking time.

A person in the meeting wondered out loud whether the lights going out was “foreign interference,” an apparent joke referencing many elected officials’ claims about foreign entities attempting to meddle in U.S. political affairs.

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Gaetz has been critical of federal law enforcement for several months. On June 30, the Florida Republican called for an investigation into claims that the National Security Agency monitored Fox News host Tucker Carlson, allegations the federal agency disputed.

Representatives for Gaetz did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.