Embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY) is expected to face a House Ethics Committee investigation, according to reports Tuesday.
When asked by CNN if Santos is under investigation by the committee, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) initially answered, “Yes.” However, McCarthy later clarified to say he meant that Santos was the subject of Ethics Committee complaints.
“There are questions. I expect them to get answered,” McCarthy said when asked if he expected the committee to investigate Santos.
McCarthy, who has said he “always had a few questions” about Santos’ resumé, has also insisted that Santos has to “move through” the Ethics Committee regarding his fate as a U.S. Congress member.
McCarthy did, however, agree to remove Santos from his own two committee assignments on January 31 until Santos “could clear everything up.”
Santos, who has admitted to fabricating parts of his professional background, is the target of complaints to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) over his campaign spending and the House Ethics Committee regarding his financial disclosure filings.
On Monday, a prospective staffer, Derek Myers, also filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee accusing Santos of sexual harassment, both verbal and physical, during his job interview.
Further, Santos is under investigation by New York’s Nassau County District Attorney, the New York State Attorney General’s office, and the federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York.
On Tuesday, a group of Santos’ New York constituents showed up at Santos’ office on Capitol Hill with a petition requesting “a vote to expel” him from Congress. Santos’ Director of Operations Vish Burra took their petition and said, “We’ll make sure this gets to your Representative.”
Santos told CNN Tuesday he is “not concerned” about the House ethics probe or about New York constituents calling on him to resign.
