POLITICS
House Ethics Committee To Take Action In George Santos Probe By Nov. 17
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The House Committee on Ethics on Tuesday said its investigation into allegations against Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) remains ongoing, and it intends to announce its next course of action by Nov. 17.
House Ethics Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and Ranking Member Rep. Susan Wild (D-Penn.) said in a joint statement that since the committee’s probe opened in February, investigators have contacted approximately 40 witnesses, reviewed more than 170,000 pages of documents, and authorized 37 subpoenas.
The Investigative Subcommittee has reviewed allegations that Santos: 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; engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office; and/or fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits.
The committee will announce its next steps on or before Nov. 17.
Last week, House Republicans from New York led by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito introduced a resolution that would force a vote on whether to expel Santos from Congress.
On Friday, Santos pleaded not guilty to 10 additional fraud charges during his arraignment on a superseding indictment in Long Island federal court. The new indictment replaces a 13-count indictment filed in May, alleging he stole the identities of campaign donors and used their credit cards to make tens of thousands of dollars worth of fraudulent purchases.
In the original indictment, Santos was charged with wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements to the House of Representatives. The charges were related to campaign finance schemes, as well as an unlawful application for unemployment benefits.
According to the updated indictment, which adds ten new charges, Santos is accused of increasing both his personal bank account and his campaign coffers by fraudulently charging the credit cards of campaign donors.
“As alleged, Santos is charged with stealing peoples identities and making charges on his own donors credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign. Santos falsely inflated the campaigns reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen,” Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.
“The defendant — a Congressman — allegedly stole the identities of family members and used the credit card information of political contributors to fraudulently inflate his campaign coffers,” said District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “We thank our partners in the US Attorneys Office and the FBI as we work together to root out public corruption on Long Island.”
U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert set a trial date of Sept. 9, 2024.
Santos has rejected calls for his resignation. Im entitled to due process and not a predetermined outcome as some are seeking, Santos posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Earlier this month, former Santos campaign treasurer Nancy Marks pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge. In court, she admitted that Santos filed false reports indicating he had loaned his campaign $500,000, in order to impress party leaders and gain their support.
TMX contributed to this article.
