A bipartisan subcommittee will determine whether Santos, 34, “may have engaged in illegal activity in connection with his 2022 congressional campaign”; Failure to properly disclose required information in reports filed with the House; violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a fiduciary services company; and/or sexually assaulted a person seeking employment in his congressional office,” the statement said.
Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) will serve as chairman of the investigation subcommittee, and Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) will serve as its ranking Democrat. The other two members of the Intelligence Subcommittee are Reps. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) and Glenn Ivey (D-Md.).
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Santos said: A message A post on Congress’ verified Twitter account said Santos was “fully cooperating” with the investigation and would have no further comment.
The House Committee on Ethics has opened an investigation, and Congressman George Santos is fully cooperating. No further comment will be made at this time.
— Rep. George Santos (@RepSantosNY03) March 2, 2023
Elected in November, Santos has faced calls to step down from Democrats and Republicans — including New York representatives — for fabricating numerous details about his life. The string of lies included Santos falsely claiming he graduated from Baruch College with a 3.89 GPA, lying to a judge in 2017 about working at Goldman Sachs, and claiming his mother was at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Immigration records show she is not in the country.
Santos faces multiple local, state and federal investigations following reports of lies and fabrications. His resume has unraveled since he won the Democratic-leaning 3rd Congressional District, which includes Long Island’s North Shore and parts of Queens.
Santos has admitted to lying about his education and work history, but there are questions about the source of his wealth, which he used to fund his campaign. In January, a nonpartisan watchdog filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission about Santos’ campaign financing.
The Washington Post reported last month that Pennsylvania Amish farmers accused Santos of writing bad checks and taking puppies, leading to a criminal indictment in 2017. The Post also reported that Santos also called Derek a relative of a Russian oligarch as a client. Myers, a prospective employee in Santos’ DC office, said last month she was sexually harassed by the congressman.
Myers filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics. On Thursday, Myers told The Post that he would release evidence to the committee if subpoenaed.
“I have faith in the evidence and the facts,” Myers said. “The evidence for my involvement is strong.”
Santos resisted calls for his resignation, as did House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who said Santos was legitimately elected and sat unopposed. House Republicans appointed Santos to two House committees in January, but Santos later recused himself from those committees, calling him a “distraction.”
As candidate, Santos was invited Representatives of the New York Democratic Party. House Ethics Committee to Investigate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Tom Suozzi. Although he largely avoids questions from reporters on the halls of Congress, Santos appeared last month for an interview with “Pierce Morgan Uncensored,” where he admitted: “I’m a terrible liar.”
Santos described the lies about his higher education as “one of my biggest regrets in life.” Baruch accused her of false claims that she had graduated from college as “expectation.” [of] Society, pressure,” and not being able to go to college.
While describing the decision as “stupid”, he said it stemmed from “the political apparatus and the political culture of New York State”.
Asked why he didn’t think his lies would be exposed, Santos replied: “I ran for Congress in 2020 in the same exact seat, and then I got away with it.”
