Chaffetz actually skipped the meeting, says ethics watchdog he lambasted

A member of Chaffetz's staff sent a message the next day lamenting that the congressman's schedule was "backed up with a hard stop for a return flight home."

"The chairman requested that I pass on the message that he is disturbed and disappointed that we weren't able to make this happen," one note reads. "We'll have to come back to this in January to see if we can make something work."

But Shaub's office seems to have thought the plans were more concrete. An OGE staffer responded by noting the meeting was "never declined by us and never taken off of the table by her" despite questions about holding it over the phone.

Chaffetz threatened an investigation — and possible subpoena — of Shaub for criticizing President-elect Donald Trump's plans to handle his business holdings while in office.

"He spouts off before he even looks at the information," Chaffetz told The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday. "That seems to be a political pundit's voice, not the head of the Office of Government Ethics."

In a Jan. 12 letter to Shaub, the congressman cited instances of the ethics agency "blurring the line between public relations and official ethics guidance," according to a copy published by The New York Times. He included in the message a series of tweets posted Nov. 30 from the official OGE account that appeared sarcastic; they celebrated Trump's divestiture when there was no such action.

Trump will instead hand over his company assets to his two sons and limit new foreign investments — a plan that falls short of what Shaub and other ethics officials had called for.

Chaffetz planned to discuss the tweets in a sit-down with Shaub. He said Thursday that his office listed times to meet with the ethics official and couldn't find a slot that worked for both.

"It shouldn't be that difficult for us to meet with him," Chaffetz said. "We just need to sit and talk for an hour and understand each other."

The emails suggest that the Dec. 8 meeting was never confirmed by Chaffetz's office.

"The director's scheduler just indicated that we are uncertain based on his exchange with the chairman's scheduler about whether we are on for a 2:30 meeting or not," one message reads.

And it's possible the emails don't encapsulate all communications; any phone transcripts concerning the meeting were not included in the disclosed documents. Still, an ethics office staffer waited for the supposed meeting and said in an email that calls to Chaffetz's office that day were not returned. Shaub later referenced the scheduled date in an email on Jan. 14, calling it a "bizarre claim" that he would decline to meet with the congressman.

"Let me know if they repeat that incorrect claim to the press again," Shaub writes, noting that "we have emails corroborating the fact that the chairman is the one who canceled the meeting."

Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Democrat and ranking member of the oversight committee, said in a prepared statement that Chaffetz owes Shaub "an apology for these inaccurate public attacks against him."

While Chaffetz has vowed to continue with the investigation of Shaub, he has rebuffed calls to investigate Trump, calling it a "fishing expedition" pushed for by Democrats.

"I'm not saying I'm going to, but I'm not saying I'm not going to," he told The Tribune on Thursday, adding that he "never investigated Barack Obama, ever."