GOP representative Matt Gaetz said he "personally apologized" to Michael Cohen for his business tweet.

February 28, 2019, 05:09 GMT

By Dennis Romero

Representative Matt Gaetz said Wednesday that he had "personally apologized" to Michael Cohen after suggesting that the former president's lawyer was engaged in extramarital affairs.

"I personally apologized to @ MichaelCohen212 4 for referring to his private family in the public square," said the Florida Republican. said by Twitter. "Regardless of disagreements, family members should be excluded from attacks …"

Gaetz published what appeared to be a threat to reveal rude allegations before Cohen's public testimony Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee.

I personally apologized for @ MichaelCohen212 4 reference to his private family in the public square. Regardless of disagreements, family members must be protected from attacks by representatives, senators and presidents, including myself. Let the Cohen family alone.

– Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 28, 2019

"Is your wife and stepfather aware of your friends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for this cat, and I wonder if she will stay faithful when you're in jail. point to learn a lot …. "Gaetz wrote Tuesday on Twitter.

The congressman has since deleted the original tweet. He also told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Twitter that "it was NOT my intention to threaten".

This decision did not seem to influence the Florida Bar, which, according to news from NBC News, investigates Gaetz for possibly breaking his rules of professionalism. The survey was reported for the first time by the Daily Beast.

Gaetz first defended his initial tweet to Cohen, who asserted Wednesday in a testimony that President Donald Trump had committed a litany of crimes while the two were working in concert, saying that he did not think that his statement was threatening.

Dennis Romero writes for NBC News and is based in Los Angeles.

Marianna Sotomayor contributed.