The House Ethics panel announced on Thursday that it has discovered “substantial evidence” of wrongdoing by Republican Representative George Santos from New York and has referred the case to the Justice Department. The committee concluded that Santos’ actions deserve public condemnation, undermine the dignity of his position, and bring significant discredit to the House.
Despite numerous calls from fellow colleagues, Santos has adamantly maintained his innocence and refused to resign. The panel’s investigation revealed that Santos knowingly instructed his campaign committee to submit false or incomplete reports to the Federal Election Commission, misused campaign funds for personal expenses, and violated the Ethics in Government Act concerning financial disclosure statements filed with the House.
Furthermore, the ethics panel’s report highlights Santos’ lack of cooperation during the investigation, describing his evasion of straightforward requests for information. The information he did provide was found to contain significant falsehoods that further perpetuated the lies he made during his 2022 campaign.
Rather than pursuing formal charges, an investigative subcommittee decided against it due to the potential lengthy trial-like proceedings and sanctions hearing that would grant Santos more opportunities to delay accountability. Consequently, the committee opted to present the complete report to the House, urging its members to take appropriate action based on its findings.
However, the repercussions from the investigative panel’s findings may be the least of Santos’ concerns, as he currently faces a 23-count federal indictment. The indictment alleges that Santos stole the identities of campaign donors and used their credit cards to make unauthorized charges totaling tens of thousands of dollars. Federal prosecutors assert that Santos transferred some of the funds to his personal bank account and used the remainder to bolster his campaign finances.
Additionally, Santos is accused of falsely reporting to the Federal Elections Commission that he had loaned his campaign $500,000, despite not contributing any funds and possessing less than $8,000 in his bank account. This fraudulent loan was an attempt to convince Republican Party officials that he was a serious candidate worthy of their financial support, according to the indictment.
Earlier this month, Santos managed to survive a vote to expel him from the House, as most Republicans and 31 Democrats chose to withhold punishment until the conclusion of his criminal trial and the House Ethics Committee’s investigation.
