'Desperate rage': Republican accuses lawyer of 'blackmail' amid affair rumors linked to staffer's suicide

Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas is making accusations of blackmail in the aftermath of an alleged affair he had with a staffer who later committed suicide by lighting herself on fire.

Gonzales' former staffer Regina Santos-Aviles reportedly sent a text to her co-worker in April 2025 claiming to have had an "affair" with their "boss." Just months later, in September, Santos-Aviles took her own life.

Gonzales, who is married with children, is now accusing a lawyer representing Santos-Aviles' husband, Adrian Aviles, of blackmail.

'You are guilty and should resign.'

"I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED," the Trump-endorsed congressman said in a post on X Thursday. "Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death."

"The public should IMMEDIATELY have full access to the Uvalde Police report," Gonzales added. "I will keep fighting for #TX23."

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Gonzales also posted an apparent screenshot of a message from Aviles' lawyer, Robert J. Barrera, offering a settlement and nondisclosure agreement. Barrera confirmed to Blaze News that the communication was from his firm on behalf of Aviles as part of a "confidential settlement negotiation" that was sent to Gonzales' lawyers on February 10.

"What Tony printed is not the entire email, clearly," Barrera told Blaze News. "... He cut out the significant reason of why we were attempting to settle and the evidence we had."

Barrera noted that the discreet nature of the communication goes against the claim that he intended to blackmail the congressman as Gonzales had claimed.

"What I guess Tony, in his anger and rage, doesn't read is that letter clearly states we had no intention of wrecking his political career," Barrera told Blaze News. "Had we intended that, we would have not engaged in settlement communications. We would have just filed and gotten all the publicity we could in suing him for sexual assault and retaliation and office harassment, which is all covered under the Congressional Accountability Act."

"In his desperate rage, Tony Gonzales went public with our attempts to settle the case under a confidentiality agreement, which is beyond common in these situations."

Gonzales' office did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

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Notably, Aviles replied to Gonzales' post, denying the blackmail accusation and issuing a scathing rebuke of the congressman for what he called a "consistent pattern of evasion, refusal to take accountability, and outright lies to protect [his] image."

"You’re a classic case of a two-faced politician who says whatever is convenient to save face," Aviles said in the post. "We chose to hold back the full police report and body cam footage for one reason only it shows my wife suffering severe burns in horrific detail. I will not allow that graphic material to become accessible to our 8 year old son in the future when he is old enough to search for or come across it."

"Nothing in that police report protects you, that decision is about protecting our child’s well-being, not concealing anything improper," Aviles added. "Your actions have been disgraceful, and you continue to mislead your constituents with falsehoods. You may avoid responsibility here on earth, but one day you will answer to a higher authority. Today, though, you still answer to the people you represent—people who deserve the truth, not more deception."

Gonzales' primary opponent Brandon Herrera, a gun YouTuber who nearly unseated the Texas Republican in 2024, also sounded off on social media in a post on X.

"You are guilty and should resign."

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