Richard Painter, the former chief ethics lawyer for the George W. Bush administration, called for the speedy arrest of Rep. Matt Gaetz Matthew (Matt) GaetzLara Trump campaigns with far-right activist candidate Laura Loomer in Florida House to vote on removing cannabis from list of controlled substances The Hill's 12:30 Report: Sights and sounds from GOP convention night 1 MORE (R-Fla.), accusing him of witness tampering hours after he issued what many perceived to be a threatening tweet directed at Michael Cohen on the eve of Cohen's public congressional testimony.

Witness tampering. Witness intimidation.@mattgaetz should be arrested tonight and steps taken to protect the witness. https://t.co/54lQP5eh8P — Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) February 27, 2019

Gaetz drew sharpt backlash on Tuesday after posting a tweet, which has since been deleted, that suggested Cohen had not been faithful to his wife and questioned whether his wife would remain faithful to him while he serves time in prison.

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“Hey @MichaelCohen212,” Gaetz began in the tweet. “Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she’ll remain faithful when you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot…”

Gaetz later issued an apology for the tweet after a number of legal experts and Democrats suggested the post may constitute witness tampering.

Gaetz sought to clarify that it was not his “intent to threaten” Cohen in his earlier tweet and added that “he should have chosen words that better showed my intent.”

Speaker, I want to get the truth too. While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. I’m deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. I’m sorry. https://t.co/Rdbw3sTQJD — Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 27, 2019

His apology came in response to a statement Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare House lawmakers reach deal to avert shutdown Centrist Democrats 'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill MORE (D-Calif.) shared on Twitter earlier on Tuesday, which noted that lawmakers' statements "can adversely affect the ability of House committees to obtain the truthful and complete information necessary to fulfill their duties."

Painter, however, appeared unfazed by Gaetz’s apology and referred to it as “BS” in a tweet directly calling out the Florida Republican shortly after.

“You threatened a witness. That’s a crime,” Painter said in a tweet late Tuesday.

“You should resign from Congress and face charges," he added.