Embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY) has been accused of sexual harassment by a prospective staffer.
Derek Myers detailed the allegations against Santos on Twitter in a series of posts that included a complaint he said he filed with the Office of Congressional Ethics, stating, “These matters will not be litigated on social media or through news media. They are serious offenses and the evidence and facts will speak for themselves if the [House Ethics] committee takes up the matter.”
“This is not about attention; it’s about holding the actions accountable,” 30-year-old Myers told CBS News.
According to the complaint Myers filed with the House Ethics Committee, 34-year-old Santos asked Myers if he had a profile on the dating app Grindr, saying that he, Santos, had one.
Myers goes on to say that later in the day, while reviewing mail, Santos asked him to sit beside him on a sofa in the Congressman’s office.
“I proceeded to move forward with a discussion about the mail, but the Congressman stopped me by placing his hand on my left leg, near my knee and saying, ‘Hey buddy, we’re going to karaoke tonight. Would you like to go?'” Myers wrote in his complaint.
Myers then alleges that when he declined the invite, Santos “proceeded to take his hand and move it down my leg into my inner-thigh and proceeded to touch my groin.”
“I quickly pushed the Congressman’s hand away and grabbed the mail from the table and proceeded to discuss the topic of constituent correspondence,” Myers said in the Ethics complaint. “Shortly thereafter, I left the personal office and returned to my desk.”
That incident allegedly occurred on January 25. On February 1, Myers said he was informed that his job offer “was being rescinded.”
Last year Myers, doing work as a journalist, was charged with felony wiretapping in Ohio. Santos has claimed that Myers’ previous history of wiretapping was the reason the job offer was rescinded. On Thursday, Santos told news outlet Semafor that he expected Myers to publish recorded conversations online, saying that Myers “violated the trust that we had in him.”
The next day, Talking Points Memo published audio recordings, provided by Myers, in which Santos gave Myers an opportunity to explain his previous charges before ultimately firing him.
Myers told CBS News that “hiring managers and senior staff were aware of my history as a journalist and the 2022 controversy.” He insists an offer had been made “in the interview phase” despite “this fully-disclosed 2022 chapter in my previous job.”
However, Myers admitted, “Unfortunately, I have no evidence to support the true motive” for the job offer being rescinded. “The timing certainly raises the prospect” that it was a form of retaliation for rejecting Santos’ sexual advances, he added.
Myers’ accusation is the latest in a string of legal issues for Santos. He is under investigation over lies and fabrications about his resumé by New York’s Nassau County District Attorney, the New York State Attorney General’s office, and federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York.
Santos, who has admitted to fabricating parts of his professional background, is also the target of complaints to the Federal Elections Commission over his campaign spending and the House Ethics Committee regarding his financial disclosure filings.
Last week, Santos was removed from his House committee assignments by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who said at the time, “I think it was an appropriate decision that until he could clear everything up he’s off of committees right now.”
