George Santos “Blatantly Stole From His Campaign” And Deceived Donors, House Ethics Committee Report Says

deadline.com:

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) faces the renewed prospect of being expelled from Congress, after a report from the House Ethics Committee concluded that he deceived donors, stole from his campaign and “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.” The committee also unanimously recommended referral of the “substantial evidence” of potential criminal violations to the Justice Department.

Read the Ethics Committee report. Read the Ethics Committee investigative report. Before he was even sworn into Congress in January, Santos attracted widespread attention as revelations came to light of his false claims on his resume and other parts of his background.

He already faces criminal charges, with the DOJ having filed an array of additional criminal counts against him last month, including wire fraud and identity theft.

He has pleaded not guilty. The Investigative Subcommittee report concluded that Santos “cannot be trusted.” “At nearly every opportunity, he placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles,” the report stated. “He reported fictitious loans to his political committees to induce donors and party committees to make further contributions to his campaign—and then diverted more campaign money to himself as purported‘repayments’ of those fictitious loans,” the report’s authors wrote.