Gaetz joins '#FreeBritney' movement, calls for hearing on conservatorships

close

Video

New documentary spotlights Britney Spears’ conservatorship

Attorneys Alex Swoyer and Robert Patillo discuss the legal battle on ‘Fox News @ Night.’

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and House Oversight Committee ranking member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, have teamed up to "champion" the #FreeBritney movement and called for a hearing on the issue of conservatorships in the House Judiciary Committee.

The pair of lawmakers joined forces in a press release and letter sent out Tuesday, where they requested a hearing "to review and examine the plight of Americans trapped unjustly in conservatorships."

Conservatorships are legal agreements where a court-appointed individual manages the affairs of an adult, or ward, who is unable to take care of themselves due to reasons such as old age or mental or physical illness. 

The practice recently came under the spotlight after the #FreeBritney movement — which aims to free popstar Britney Spears from her controversial conservatorship under her father — caught steam online following a documentary about her conservatorship from the New York Times.

BRITNEY SPEARS CONSERVATORSHIP CASE: HOW NANCY GRACE THINKS THE #FREEBRITNEY SAGA WILL END

"If the conservatorship process can rip the agency from a woman who was in the prime of her life and one of the most powerful pop stars in the world, imagine what it can do to people who are less powerful and have less of a voice," wrote Gaetz in his statement.

"I’ve heard the story of those people in Florida, and I am concerned about access to due process for wards," the Florida congressman added.

In a statement to Fox News on Tuesday, Gaetz said that he believed Spears would be a "great witness" and would bring much to the table, should she testify.

"I think Britney would be a great witness … and would likely have a lot to say on this subject," said Gaetz.

BRITNEY SPEARS’ CONSERVATORSHIP KEEPS HER FROM MARRYING, HAVING A BABY, MAKEUP ARTIST SAYS

The letter was sent by the two congressmen to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and described the charge of the committee as "safeguarding the rights afforded to Americans by the U.S. Constitution."

"These rights include having the free will to guide one’s own affairs and the legal autonomy over one’s own finances," the letter began. "When situations suggest the unjust deprivation of those rights by the government, we have an obligation to conduct oversight and explore potential remedies."

The two Republicans noted that there "has been growing public concern" regarding "the use of conservatorships" to rob them of "personal freedoms at the behest of others" by manipulating the legal system.

They also noted that "a project funded by the Department of Justice to examine conservator exploitation" revealed that "‘financial exploitation by conservators often goes unchecked by courts’" and that there is "dire need" of reform around conservatorships and guardianships.

The letter mentioned the recent concerns of conservatorships by the American Civil Liberties Union — which said the practice should only be "used as a last resort" — and the people being "stripped of virtually all of their civil rights through guardianships and conservatorships."

Gaetz and Jordan then moved to the "most striking example" of Spears’ conservatorship case.

TWITTER WANTS OPRAH WINFREY TO INTERVIEW BRITNEY SPEARS NEXT

"Since 2008, Ms. Spears has been under a court-ordered conservatorship," wrote the congressmen. "The facts and circumstances giving rise to this arrangement remain in dispute but involve questionable motives and legal tactics by her father and now-conservator, Jamie Spears."

They pointed out that Spears had voiced strong opposition to her father, Jamie, being her conservator in two court appearances in 2020 and that, "[d]espite these pleas," Spears’ father remained her conservator.

"Ms. Spears is not alone," Gaetz and Jordan wrote before pointing to another case involving Daniel Gross.

Gross was a resident of New York who was "forced against his will into a conservatorship after being hospitalized with cellulitis while visiting his daughter in Connecticut."

"In what the judge labeled as ‘a terrible miscarriage of justice,’ Mr. Gross was locked in a Connecticut nursing home for 10 months despite his pleas for release," wrote the congressmen.

Gaetz and Jordan concluded the letter by calling for a hearing "to examine whether Americans are trapped unjustly in conservatorships."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Twitter users called on Oprah to interview Spears next on her show following her controversial interview with Prince Harry and Megan Markle.

Nadler’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment on the letter or whether or not the House Judiciary Committee would hold a hearing on the issue of conservatorships.