New York Republican Representative George Santos has announced he will not seek re-election in 2024 after a House Ethics Committee report found substantial evidence of his violation of federal criminal laws.
Driving the news: The 56-page report suggests that Santos collectively committed a complex web of unlawful activities having to do with his personal, campaign, and business finances for financial profits. The report found that Santos used campaign finance funds for personal purposes and filed false campaign reports.
- The report implicates Santos in fictitious loans, misleading donors into contributions for his own benefit, and numerous suspicious campaign expenditures to retailers like Hermes and online pornographic subscription service OnlyFans.
- The Ethics Committee has referred these findings, including uncharged conduct, to the Justice Department.
- The report comes after a former campaign fundraiser for Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud, having posed as former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s chief of staff while trying to raise money for Santos.
- Ethics investigators chose not to subpoena Santos, considering that doing so could have delayed their investigation.
- The report is in agreement with many New York Republicans’ long-held belief that Santos’ conduct is criminal and unbecoming.
