NEW YORK — The House Ethics Committee announced Thursday that it would launch an investigation into embattled Republican Representative George Santos, the New York congressman whose lies and embellishments on his resume and personal life have made subject to in-depth examination.
The research seems to be wide-ranging. It is seeking to determine whether Santos “may have engaged in illegal activities in connection with his 2022 congressional campaign,” among other actions, the committee said in a statement.
The panel will also investigate whether Santos “failed to adequately disclose required information in statements filed with the House, violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role at a company that provides trust services and/or engaged in sexual behavior”. to a person seeking employment in your Congressional office,” the statement read.
Santos had already stepped down from his committee assignments, but has otherwise rejected calls from Republicans in New York for him to step down. On Twitter, his office said it was “fully cooperating” with the ethics investigation and would not comment further.
Ethics committee members David Joyce, R-Ohio, and Susan Wild, D-Pa., will lead the investigation, along with two other lawmakers from each party. The panel had voted unanimously to create a subcommittee to investigate the allegations.
“The Committee notes that the mere fact of establishing an investigative subcommittee does not in itself indicate that any violation has taken place,” the Thursday statement said.
The committee could take a variety of actions, ranging from a letter of reprimand to recommending a ban and a fine.
He can also recommend expulsion, the most severe form of punishment the House can impose, an action it has used only five times in more than two centuries and never for behavior that occurred before a member was released. takes office. . At least two-thirds of the House must vote for expulsion for that to happen.
Any recommendations would be part of a committee report setting out the evidence supporting its findings and an explanation of the reasons for the recommended sanctions.
A Long Island prosecutor has already investigated whether Santos defrauded his supporters. The Federal Election Commission has repeatedly pointed to issues with Santos’ campaign finance reports.
Santos admitted to lying about key parts of his background, including his work experience and college education, after The New York Times raised questions in December about his life story he presented during his campaign .
“My sins here embellish my resume. I’m sorry,” Santos told the New York Post following the Times article.
Santos said he graduated from Baruch College in New York, but the school said that could not be confirmed. Santos had also said he had worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, but neither company could find documents to verify this.
Jewish media, The Forward, disputed a claim on Santos’ campaign website that his grandparents “fleed Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and fled persecution again during the Second World War.” World War “.
“I never claimed to be Jewish,” Santos told the Post. “I’m Catholic. Ever since I found out my maternal family was of Jewish descent, I said I was ‘Jewish’.”
Perhaps the most serious questions facing Santos relate to the personal fortune he claims to have used to fund his campaign.
Since announcing his candidacy in 2021, Santos said he has loaned his campaign organization $705,000, or nearly 25% of his income over the past two years.
The underlying question remains how Santos made the money. Despite his false claims that he worked for major international banks, until a few years ago he had financial problems which led him to several eviction proceedings from apartments in New York.
When Santos first ran for Congress in 2020, his financial disclosure form listed a modest salary of $55,000 from a financial company and no significant assets.
After losing that race, he took a job selling investments in a company that the Securities and Exchange Commission later accused of being a Ponzi scheme.
Last summer, Santos filed a financial disclosure report suggesting an explosion in his personal wealth.
Santos reported that he made $750,000 a year with his own business, the Devolder organization, had savings of $1-5 million, and owned an apartment in Brazil worth up to $1 million. . Santos is yet to fully answer questions about how he got so rich so quickly. In an interview with Semafor, Santos said he worked as a consultant for “high net worth individuals,” helping negotiate the sale of luxury items such as yachts and planes.