The House Ethics Committee, in a scathing report Thursday, said it had amassed “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking by Rep. George Santos of New York that was sent to the Justice Department, emphatically concluding that The Republican “cannot be trusted” after a months-long investigation into his conduct.
Shortly after the panel’s report was released, Santos tweeted on X that he would not seek re-election for a second term. He criticized the committee’s report as a “politicized smear.”
The committee said Santos’ conduct deserves public condemnation, is below the dignity of the office and has brought serious discredit to the House.
The panel said Santos knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; he used campaign funds for personal purposes; and engaged in violations of the Ethics in Government Act regarding financial disclosure statements filed with the House.
Santos has maintained his innocence and refused to resign despite calls from many of his colleagues for him to do so.
The ethics panel’s report also details Santos’ lack of cooperation with its investigation and how he “evaded” direct requests for information.
The information he did provide, according to the committee, “included material misstatements that further advanced the falsehoods he committed during his 2022 campaign.”
The report says an investigative subcommittee decided not to file formal charges because it would have resulted in a “lengthy, trial-like public adjudication and sanctions hearing” that would only have given Santos “new opportunity to delay any accountability.” Instead, the committee decided to send the full report to the House.
He urged House members to “take whatever action they deem appropriate and necessary” based on the report.
The investigative panel’s conclusions may be the least of Santos’ worries. The congressman faces a 23-count federal indictment alleging he stole the identities of campaign donors and then used their credit cards to generate tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges. Federal prosecutors say Santos transferred some of the money to his personal bank account and used the rest to fill his campaign coffers.
Santos, who represents parts of Queens and Long Island, is also accused of falsely reporting to the Federal Election Commission that he had loaned his campaign $500,000 when he had actually given nothing and had less than $8,000 in the bank. The phony loan was an attempt to convince Republican Party officials that he was a serious candidate worthy of their financial support, the indictment says.
Santos easily survived a vote earlier this month to expel him from the House, as a majority of Republicans and 31 Democrats opted to suspend punishment while his criminal trial and the House Ethics Committee investigation continued.
