House ethics panel votes to investigate embattled Santos

WASHINGTON – The House Ethics Committee voted to investigate embattled New York Rep. George Santos over several allegations surrounding his campaign last year and time in office.

The evenly split bipartisan panel voted unanimously Feb. 28 to establish a subcommittee of two Republicans and two Democrats who will look into whether Santos engaged in “unlawful activity” during his 2022 campaign and investigate sexual misconduct allegations involving a staffer.

The announcement came the same day a nonpartisan ethics watchdog group filed another Federal Election Commission complaint against the Long Island Republican.

The latest developments are causing more trouble for the freshman lawmaker who has stepped down from his committee assignments after he admitted “embellishing” his resume, including lying about his academic credentials. He has steadfastly refused to leave Congress despite calls for his resignation from both parties and his admission to being a “terrible liar.”

What is House Ethics investigating?

Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, will serve as chair of the subcommittee with Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., as the top Democratic member. Republican Rep. John Rutherford of Florida and Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland will also serve on the panel.

According to a news release Thursday, the House Ethics committee plans to investigate whether 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 toward an individual seeking employment in his congressional office.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in January he would consider removing Santos from Congress if an investigation into his background by the ethics committee finds he acted illegally.

“If for some way when we go through ethics and he has broken the law, then we will remove him, but it’s not my role,” McCarthy said. “I believe in the rule of law. A person’s innocent until proven guilty.”

What’s in the watchdog group’s complaint?

Also on Thursday, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust filed a complaint with the FEC seeking a probe into whether Santos’ campaign committee violated federal campaign law by failing to disclose expenditures.

This isn’t the first group that has flagged possible campaign violations by the congressman’s campaign.

Liberal political action committee End Citizens United filed three complaints with the FEC related to Santos’ finances. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and the Campaign Legal Center also requested investigations from the FEC into his campaign funds.

FACT claims Santos’ has over $350,000 in unexplained spending from his 2022 congressional campaign. The group says there is no record where the hundreds of thousands of dollars went.

It is required by federal law to disclose campaign expenditures and money raised or spent during an election for federal office.

The complaint filed Thursday also alleges that the Santos campaign had nearly 1,300 disbursements to “anonymous” that totaled over $250,000 and were later removed from reports. The nonprofit said these disbursements were for $199.99 – one penny below the FEC’s threshold requiring disbursements to be itemized.