House Ethics Committee Releases Report on Rep. George Santos

Washington — The House Ethics Committee released a long-awaited report on its investigation into embattled Rep. George Santos on Thursday, finding that there was "substantial evidence" of wrongdoing by the congressman.

The committee said in a statement announcing the release of its findings that the investigative subcommittee tasked with examining allegations of misconduct of Santos "unanimously concluded that there was substantial evidence" that he knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission, used campaign funds for personal purposes, engaged in fraudulent content and engaged in "knowing and willful" violations of federal ethics law related to financial disclosure statements filed with the House.

The full ethics panel unanimously voted to refer the evidence of Santos' alleged violations to the Justice Department, it said.

"Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit," the subcommittee said in its report to the full House Ethics Committee.

The scathing report could give momentum to another effort to remove the New York Republican from Congress and possibly change the minds of those who have been hesitant to support his expulsion. 

A decision on punishment for Santos was not made by the committee. The chairman of the committee, Mississippi GOP Rep. Michael Guest, stated before the release of the report that it would be left to House lawmakers to determine how to proceed. 

Guest mentioned on Wednesday that making recommendations would have prolonged the process by several months, and that the information provided in the report should be sufficient for members to decide whether or not to expel Rep. Santos. 

In March, the bipartisan committee announced an extensive investigation into Santos to investigate potential unlawful activity during his 2022 campaign, violations of federal conflict of interest laws, and improper completion of his House financial disclosure forms. 

The committee also stated that it was looking into an allegation of sexual misconduct made by an individual seeking employment in Santos' congressional office. 

Since then, the committee has provided two updates on the progress of the investigation. In June, committee leaders announced over 30 subpoenas and numerous voluntary requests for information. Approximately two weeks ago, committee leaders disclosed that investigators had reached out to around 40 witnesses, reviewed over 170,000 pages of documents, and authorized 37 subpoenas. They emphasized that the investigation has required extensive time and resources. 

The news report comes about two weeks after a member of Congress survived a second attempt to expel him. This member, who goes by the name Santos, is currently facing nearly two dozen federal indictment charges. Santos has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Santos faced his first expulsion attempt in May. During that time, Democrats tried to remove him from Congress after he was initially charged with fraud, money laundering, and other crimes. However, Republicans blocked the effort and instead referred the matter to the Ethics Committee.

Recently, a group of Santos' fellow New York Republicans renewed the effort to expel him. This occurred in October after he was hit with more charges, including stealing campaign donors' identities and putting unauthorized charges on their credit cards. Additionally, he was accused of falsifying campaign finance reports, money laundering, and more.

The vote to expel Santos fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to oust a member under the Constitution. Most Republicans and 31 Democrats withheld their support for punishing him while the Ethics Committee investigation and his criminal trial proceed.

"I stand firmly in my innocence," Santos said ahead of the vote.

If the expulsion had been successful, Santos would have become just the sixth House member to be expelled from Congress. The most recent expulsion occurred in 2002 when Ohio Rep. James Traficant was removed from office after being convicted of 10 corruption-related felonies.

There is speculation that Rep. Santos may face another expulsion vote after the Ethics Committee released a statement in October. Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican from the New York delegation, believes that certain members of the conference and across the aisle are using the committee's report as a basis for their decision. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, who voted against expelling Santos, acknowledges that it will be difficult for Santos to survive a vote if there is credible evidence in the committee's report.