The House Ethics Committee has launched an investigation into alleged misconduct by freshman Rep. George Santos (R-NY).
In a statement, Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-MS) said, “[T]he Committee unanimously voted on February 28, 2023, to establish an Investigative Subcommittee.”
He went on to say that the subcommittee would probe “whether Representative George Santos may have: engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign; failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House; violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary services; and/or engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office.”
Around 2:30pm Eastern Time, Santos’ Twitter account responded by saying, “The House Committee on Ethics has opened an investigation, and Congressman George Santos is fully cooperating. There will be no further comment made at this time.”
Among Santos’ legal issues, he 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 over lies ad fabrications he made publicly on the 2022 campaign trail.
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. Questions include how he generated enough personal wealth to lend his campaign $700,000 as campaign filings show. Santos had said his money came from his company, Devolder Organization, but he has disclosed very little information about its operations.
In early February Santos was also accused of sexual harassment by a prospective Congressional staffer.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who said in mid-January that he “always had a few questions” about Santos’ resume, also said around the same time that Santos would have to “go through the Ethics [Committee], let him move through that.”
On January 31, Santos stepped away from his own two committee memberships—Small Business and Science & Technology—to focus on the numerous allegations against him.
