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According to the House rules on leasing and renting: “The Lease or Amendment is entered into at fair market value as the result of a bona fide, arms-length, marketplace transaction. The Lessor and Lessee certify that the parties are not relatives nor have had, or continue to have, a professional or legal relationship (except as a landlord and tenant).” The office space in question is a historical building in Pensacola, Florida, that Rep. Gaetz has paid more than $184,000 for since coming into office in 2017.
Merrill has said that the market price was below market value, though Gaetz later said that it was “at or below market value.” Merrill admitted to ProPublica that he has indeed advised Gaetz on policy and this whole issue of renting is a overblown. “I probably be damned if I do, damned if I didn’t. If I [set the rent] too cheap, I’m probably doing him a favor, if I do it too expensive, he’s doing me a favor.”
Of course, when the House’s Administrative Counsel approved the rental agreement, Rep. Gaetz told ProPublica he did not “feel he needed to disclose his long relationship with Merrill to the House.” Rep. Gaetz defended his relationship with Merrill, saying that there was nothing “inappropriate” in their relationship or in the business relationship that the American people are now in with Merrill’s real estate.
