Unveiling the Truth: The House Ethics Investigation into George Santos

The House Ethics Committee issued a damning report on Thursday regarding New York Rep. George Santos, claiming that he violated federal laws, embezzled funds from his campaign, and consistently deceived his constituents and donors while securing a seat in the US House.

Following the release of the extensive 56-page report exposing his misconduct, there have been renewed demands to remove the first-term Republican from Congress. In response, Santos, who has often shown defiance, announced that he will not run for re-election in the upcoming year.

The report by the investigative subcommittee of the House Ethics Committee revealed a range of findings. These include evidence of misusing campaign funds for Botox treatments and personal travel, as well as indications of Representative Santos' extensive involvement in submitting deceptive reports to federal regulators. These false reports were used to conceal the actual state of his financial situation and that of his campaign. In conclusion, the report stated that Representative Santos manipulated every aspect of his House candidacy in an attempt to illicitly benefit financially.

The committee found insufficient evidence to substantiate the sexual harassment claims made by someone seeking employment in Santos' congressional office. However, the panel has referred its findings regarding his campaign finances and other activities to the US Justice Department. The committee concluded that Santos' conduct was inappropriate for the office and has greatly damaged the reputation of the House.

Heres a look at some of the key takeaways from the report:

Report describes use of campaign funds for personal travel and cosmetics

The report presented ample proof of Santos utilizing campaign funds for extravagant personal expenditures. Santos incurred substantial travel costs for flights, hotels, Ubers, and meals that seemingly lacked any political or campaign justification.

While one witness claimed that only two trips were made to Washington, DC, and Florida during the campaign, other witnesses attested to Santos' significantly more frequent travel.

Rep. George Santos walks back to his office after debate on the House floor on a resolution to expel him from Congress, at the US Capitol November 1, in Washington, DC.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Santos has announced that he will not run for re-election following the release of a damaging report by the Ethics Committee. According to one witness, Santos only traveled once a month, while another expressed concern over the excessive campaign spending on dinners and travel outside the district.

Another staff member who observed Santos utilizing campaign funds for meals and Uber rides referred to Santos as a "big spender," but expressed no qualms about the expenditure.

During December 2021, Santos utilized the campaign credit card for taxi and hotel expenses in Las Vegas, despite informing his campaign team that he was on his honeymoon during that period and there were no campaign activities scheduled.

On July 7, 2022, a Federal Election Commission report classified a $3,332.81 expense for Airbnb as a "Hotel stay." This expenditure coincided with Santos' absence as indicated in his campaign calendar, which noted that he was "off at [the] Hamptons for the weekend." Additionally, Santos incurred a cost of $2,281.52 at Atlantic City resorts from July 23 to July 24, 2022. Interestingly, his calendar for the 24th had only one event scheduled at 8pm, titled "NRCC Candidate."

One former employee of Santos stated to the Ethics panel that he couldn't remember any instances of fundraising or campaign-related activities taking place in Atlantic City. However, he did mention that Santos mentioned his fondness for visiting casinos to play roulette, usually accompanied by his husband.

Moreover, it seems that the utilization of spa and cosmetic services did not serve any campaign-related objective.

Examples in the report include:

- In July 2022, $1,400 was spent at Virtual Skin Spa in Jericho, New York.

- On August 27, 2022, $225 was spent at CityMD in Huntington, New York.

- In 2020, a $1,500 purchase was made on the campaign debit card at Mirza Aesthetics. This purchase was not reported to the FEC and was labeled as "Botox" in expense spreadsheets.

- The $1,400 charge at Virtual Skin Spa, made with the campaign debit card, was also recorded as "Botox" in the spreadsheets.

- An unreported PayPal payment of $1,029.30 was made to an esthetician associated with a spa in Rhinebeck, New York.

- There was a purchase of $4,127.80 at Hermes.

- Additionally, there were smaller purchases made at Only Fans, Sephora, for meals, and parking.

Report outlines long list of lies

The ethics report published on Thursday contains a vulnerability report that was commissioned by his campaign during the 2022 election cycle. This report reveals his deceitful statements regarding his education and employment background, along with numerous eviction notices and civil judgments.

The vulnerability report highlights Santos' dishonesty regarding his education, claiming he obtained an MBA from New York University and a bachelor's degree from Baruch College. These reports, spanning 137 pages, are generally compiled to display the findings of opposition research on a candidate.

According to the report, the registrar offices at both universities have confirmed that there is no evidence of Santos obtaining any degree from either institution. Additionally, the report reveals that Santos and his family faced three housing eviction lawsuits in Queens, New York between 2014 and 2017. It further highlights multiple civil judgments filed against Santos due to outstanding debt owed to various creditors.

George Santos, the then-Republican candidate for New York's 3rd congressional district, engages in conversation with a voter during his campaign outside a Stop and Shop store in Glen Cove, New York in November 2022.

Mary Altaffer/AP

Santos reimbursed for personal loans he didnt make

There has always been a question regarding Santos campaign filings and his claim of providing large personal loans for his congressional bids, despite having limited financial resources.

The committee's report states that there is significant evidence suggesting that Santos did not actually make or properly disclose the nearly $800,000 that he reported as personal loans to his campaign committee and aligned leadership PAC during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles. This lack of disclosure was in violation of regulations set by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). (It's worth noting that Santos ran for Congress in 2020 but was unsuccessful before winning his Long Island seat the following year.)

Additionally, the investigators discovered that Santos had received improper "reimbursements" using funds from donors for campaign loans that he never made.

The report further criticized Santos' repeated portrayal of himself as a victim of an untrustworthy campaign treasurer, stating that he played a significant role in the day-to-day financial activities of his campaigns.

Ethics panel concludes sexual harassment allegation against Santos was not substantiated

The House Ethics panel said there was not substantial evidence to support a sexual harassment allegation brought against Santos.

Witness 10, an individual looking to work as a staff assistant in Santos congressional office, made an allegation of possible sexual misconduct. However, after conducting an investigation, the report states that there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that Representative Santos sexually harassed or discriminated against Witness 10, who was being considered for employment.

Witness 10 was summoned to Santos congressional office on January 25, 2023, for a meeting with the team. He made multiple subsequent visits to the office but was instructed to wait until Human Resources completed the necessary procedures for his employment and formal onboarding. However, on February 1, the offer was retracted "due to the offices concerns about then-pending felony wiretapping charges against him."

Video Ad Feedback

Here's what we know about the House Ethics Committee report on Santos

02:19

- Source:

Two days later, witness 10 lodged a complaint with the House Ethics Committee, accusing Santos of engaging in sexual misconduct with him during a private meeting in the Congressman's office on January 25, 2023, while reviewing mail correspondence from constituents.

The investigators stated in their report that they could not verify this assertion.

Contrary to witness 10's statements about reviewing mail and being alone with Santos, other witnesses interviewed by the panel provided testimony that contradicted these claims. Witness 11 informed the panel that witness 10 was consistently in the presence of others and under supervision while in the middle of the room.

Witness 8 stated that whenever it is not me who accompanies the congressman, either the legislative director, the chief, or the communications director are always present. This leaves no chance for him to be alone with the congressman.

According to Witness 5, Witness 10 never handled the mail. Witness 5 further mentioned that they personally took the mail home, and Witness 10 confirmed Witness 5's statement that she also took the mail home with her.

Additionally, the committee expressed doubts regarding the credibility of witness 10. Witness 10 openly revealed that he had approached the FBI with his accusation against Santos and had requested monetary compensation in exchange for the information he possessed pertaining to Santos. Witness 10 informed the committee, "I was cognizant of the fact that confidential informants were remunerated, and therefore, I sought compensation."

Panel navigated DOJs overlapping criminal probe

The committee has discovered further instances of "uncharged and illegal behavior" committed by Santos, which extend beyond the existing criminal accusations. Therefore, these new allegations will be promptly forwarded to the Justice Department for a thorough investigation.

He has entered a plea of not guilty to 23 federal offenses, which encompass various issues examined by the panel, such as the alleged improper use of campaign funds and providing false information on House financial disclosures. The House investigators have diligently collected over 170,000 pages of documents and testimony from numerous witnesses during their inquiry, intending to forward this substantial evidence to federal prosecutors.

However, the report highlights that tensions arose between the concurrent Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal investigation and the House ethics investigation.

To address this issue, the ethics panel contacted the Justice Department in an attempt to resolve conflicts between their respective investigations. In March, senior DOJ officials requested that the ethics probe be temporarily suspended. However, the subcommittee responsible for handling the Santos case, known as the ISC, proceeded with their investigation despite this request.

{{img_placeholder_3}}

Video Ad Feedback

Hear what Santos' plan is if he gets expelled from Congress

01:23

- Source:

CNN

The report stated that, considering its constitutional and rule-based responsibilities, along with the distinctive nature of this case, and the ISCs concern that solely relying on the DOJ until the conclusion of the criminal prosecution would essentially hinder the Committee from exercising any oversight of Representative Santos conduct, the ISC resolved to conduct a review of the allegations while maintaining communication with the DOJ to lessen the likelihood of interference.

As a part of this coordination aimed at "mitigating potential interference," the ethics panel temporarily postponed certain aspects of its review and chose to omit certain measures, such as pursuing interviews with 20 witnesses.

The House report says DOJs "deferral requests" prevented them from getting to the bottom of certain allegations.