The House Ethics Committee released a report on Thursday on its investigation into New York Republican Rep. George Santos’ “potential violations of federal criminal law.”
Santos was arrested in early May on 13 charges related to fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and false statements, and received a 23-count superseding indictment in early October for conspiracy and additional fraud, all of which he pleaded not guilty to. The committee reported that it uncovered “substantial evidence” that Santos “knowingly” committed fraud, while using campaign donations for “personal purposes,” among other findings that it referred to the Department of Justice.
“[The committee found] substantial evidence that Representative Santos: knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with RedStone Strategies LLC; and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to his Financial Disclosure (FD) Statements filed with the House,” the report reads. (RELATED: George Santos Pleads Not Guilty To New Charges)
George Santos Ethics Report by Mary Lou Masters
Santos “blatantly stole from his campaign,” “deceived donors,” “reported fictitious loans” and conducted “fraudulent or otherwise questionable business dealings,” all while misrepresenting his background to constituents, campaign contributors and staff, according to the findings.
The congressman reacted to the report on Twitter, where he characterized the findings as “biased” and a “disgusting politicized smear,” while announcing that he will not seek reelection in 2024.
“If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the “Ethics committee”, they would have not released this biased report. The Committee went to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming (My legal bills suggest otherwise),” Santos wrote. “It is a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk. Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of Justice should all be ashamed of themselves.”
After Santos first won his seat in the 2022 midterms, where he defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman by nearly 8 points, reports emerged that the congressman-elect may have embellished his resume, prompting further speculation about his campaign finance records.
The congressman falsely claimed he attended Baruch College and New York University, worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and had family members who survived the Holocaust. Santos was also accused of stealing $3,000 from a veteran’s charity fund to pay for his sick dock, to which he has denied.
Numerous Republican and Democratic lawmakers have since called on Santos to resign, while others have pushed for the congressman to be expelled.
The report did not recommend expelling Santos, but urged House members to “carefully read” the findings and then “take any action they deem appropriate and necessary” in order “to fulfill the House’s Constitutional mandate to police the conduct of its Members.”
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