众议院共和党议员面临因婚外情指控的伦理调查
托尼·冈萨雷斯因被指控与政治助手发生不当性行为而面临众议院伦理委员会调查
作者：安德斯·哈格斯特伦
福克斯新闻
发布时间：2026年3月4日 美国东部时间下午1:55
众议院伦理委员会已对德克萨斯州共和党众议员托尼·冈萨雷斯展开调查，指控称他与一名政治助手存在婚外情。
委员会领导人周三宣布，已启动调查，以查明已婚且育有六个孩子的冈萨雷斯是否与一名女性工作人员发生了不当性行为，以及他是否因此给予了特殊优惠或特权。
冈萨雷斯表示，面对这些指控，他没有辞职的计划，并表示有关情况还有更多细节待公布。
“你们看到的并非全部事实，”冈萨雷斯上月告诉记者。
德克萨斯州共和党众议员托尼·冈萨雷斯正面临众议院伦理调查。（Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images）
这位三任议员上月辩称，他在本案中遭到“敲诈”。争议最初源于《圣安东尼奥新闻报》报道称，他们获取了短信，其中前工作人员雷吉娜·安·桑托斯-阿维莱斯向一名同事透露，她与该议员存在婚外情。
桑托斯-阿维莱斯随后自焚身亡。
冈萨雷斯上月在社交媒体上指责桑托斯-阿维莱斯的丈夫“敲诈”，并分享了该鳏夫一封电子邮件的部分截图，声称对方在寻求金钱。
“我不会被敲诈，”冈萨雷斯在2月19日的X平台帖子中写道，“看到有人从一场悲剧性死亡中谋取政治和经济利益，令人作呕。”
在冈萨雷斯发布的电子邮件中，律师罗伯特·巴雷拉讨论了针对该议员的潜在诉讼以及可能的和解协议（包含保密条款）。电子邮件称，可追偿的最高金额为30万美元。
巴雷拉否认他试图敲诈冈萨雷斯。
“这是一场绝望的企图，让他再次看起来像个政治受害者，”巴雷拉上月告诉美联社，“这里没有敲诈。我的意思是，这些指控太荒谬了。”
据巴雷拉称，冈萨雷斯在网上发布的电子邮件是他与该议员律师之间来回沟通的一部分，此前阿维莱斯决定代表妻子根据《国会问责法案》提起潜在诉讼以追偿损失。
美联社对本报道有贡献。
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（照片来源：Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images | 雷吉娜·桑托斯·阿维莱斯在Facebook上）
（德克萨斯州共和党众议员托尼·冈萨雷斯指控一名已故工作人员的丈夫“敲诈”。）（Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images）
House Ethics Committee opens Tony Gonzales investigation over staff affair | Fox News
House Republican faces ethics investigation over affair allegations
Tony Gonzales faces House Ethics Committee investigation over allegations he engaged in sexual misconduct with Regina Ann Santos-Aviles
By Anders Hagstrom
Fox News
Published March 4, 2026 1:55pm EST
The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, over allegations that he had an affair with a political aide.
Committee leaders announced Wednesday that they launched the investigation into whether Gonzales, a married father of six, engaged in sexual misconduct with a female member of his staff and whether he doled out special favors or privileges as a result.
Gonzales has said he has no plan to step down in the face of the accusations, saying there are more details to be released regarding the situation.
“What you’ve seen is not all the facts,” Gonzales told reporters last month.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, is facing a House ethics investigation.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The three-term congressman argued last month that he was being “blackmailed” in connection with the case. Controversy first arose after the San Antonio Express-News reported they obtained text messages in which the former staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, wrote to a colleague that she had an affair with the lawmaker.
Santos-Aviles later died after setting herself on fire.
Gonzales took to social media last month and accused Santos-Aviles’ husband of “blackmail,” sharing a partial screenshot of an email from the widower and claiming he was seeking money.
“I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED,” Gonzales wrote in a Feb. 19 post on X. “Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death.”
REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN ACCUSED OF AFFAIR WITH LATE AIDE TO FACE RUNOFF ELECTION
Left: Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, is seen in the U.S. Capitol before the House voted to keep the government funded into March, on Thursday, January 18, 2024; Right: Regina Santos Aviles.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images | Regina Santos Aviles on Facebook)
In the email posted by Gonzales, attorney Robert Barrera discussed a possible lawsuit against the lawmaker and a potential settlement with a nondisclosure agreement. The email says that the maximum recoverable amount is $300,000.
Barrera denied he was trying to blackmail Gonzales.
“It is a desperate attempt to make him look again like a political victim,” Barrera told The Associated Press last month. “There’s no blackmail here. I mean, it’s just ridiculous allegations.”
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, has accused a deceased staffer’s husband of “blackmail.”(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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According to Barrera, the email that Gonzales posted online was part of back-and-forth discussions he had been having with the lawmaker’s attorney after Aviles decided he wanted to recover damages through a potential lawsuit on behalf of his wife under the Congressional Accountability Act.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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