George Santos Officially Under House Ethics Investigation

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) leaves the Capitol Hill Club as members of the press follow him in Washington on Jan. 31, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The House Ethics Committee unanimously voted on March 2 to investigate allegations against Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) over claims he engaged in unlawful activity on the campaign trail.

Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), chairman of the Ethics Committee, released a statement announcing the probe, noting that no other public comment would be made except per committee rules.

The investigative subcommittee will determine whether Santos may have failed to disclose properly required information on statements filed with the House, violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary services, and engaged in sexual misconduct toward an individual seeking employment in his congressional office.

Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) will chair the investigative panel, with Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) serving as the ranking member. The other two members of the subcommittee are Reps. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) and Glenn Ivey (D-Md.).

The statement noted that launching the probe doesn’t imply any violation but demonstrates the Committee’s commitment to upholding ethical standards in Congress.

The Ethics Committee will decide whether to take any further action depending on the recommendations made by the Investigative Subcommittee based on its findings.

Santos’s office said he is “fully cooperating” with the investigation and that there “will be no further comment made at this time,” according to a statement on Santos’s Twitter account.

The Epoch Times contacted Santos’s office for further comment.

‘Terrible Liar’

Santos, who was elected to represent New York’s Third Congressional District in 2022, has faced allegations that he invented his family background, education, and work history.

In December, he confessed to lying about going to college, and in February he admitted to being a “terrible liar” and apologized.

During a Feb. 20 interview with Piers Morgan, Santos confessed to making up false stories about himself to gain the support of the GOP.

Santos admitted that he'd been a “terrible liar” concerning unverifiable statements he made on the campaign trail, including one about his mother’s presence at the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11 attacks.

The congressman apologized for his lies and explained that he thought he could get away with them because he had not been caught during his unsuccessful run for office in 2020.

“I’ve been a terrible liar on those subjects, and what I tried to convey to the American people is, I made mistakes,” Santos said.

“I ran in 2020 for the same exact seat for Congress, and I got away with it then,” he added.

Earlier in February, a group of Democrat lawmakers introduced a resolution to the House Ethics Committee calling for Santos’s expulsion.

They also accused Republican leaders of covering for Santos to maintain their slim majority in the House of Representatives.

Allegations

In December, Santos acknowledged that he had made some “resume embellishments” by falsely claiming in his biography to have graduated with “degrees in finance and economics” from Baruch College or any other college.

He also falsely claimed to have worked for two Wall Street firms when he had actually worked for Link Bridge, which had business dealings with both firms.

Further, Santos admitted to lying about owning 13 properties. Apart from these allegations, Santos was also accused of falsely claiming to be Jewish. However, in an interview with the New York Post, Santos denied having made such a claim.

Despite criticisms and calls for him to resign from Congress altogether, Santos was given relatively low-profile assignments on the House Committee on Small Business and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

However, after facing intense scrutiny for several weeks, Santos temporarily stepped down from his congressional committee assignments toward the end of January.

He informed his fellow Republican House members of his decision during a private meeting. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) agreed with Santos’s choice, saying it was the “appropriate decision.”

Santos has repeatedly refused to resign, even when members of his own party have called for him to step down.

He has argued that he is being held to a different standard than Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who falsely claimed he served in the military in Vietnam, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who embellished her Native American heritage.

Michael Clements and Savannah Pointer contributed to this report.