House Ethics Committee report finds ‘substantial’ evidence that George Santos broke federal laws

The House Ethics Committee said that it found what it considered “substantial evidence” in its report on Rep George Santos (R-NY) that the embattled freshman Republican broke federal laws in a report it released Thursday morning.

The House Ethics Committee–a bipartisan committee made up of equal members from both parties–released its report on Thursday after a months-long investigation into Mr Santos.

In a press statement on the report, the committee alleged that Mr Santos “knowingly” caused his campaign committee to file false and incomplete reports to the Federal Election Commission; used campaign cash for personal expenses; engaged in fraudulent conduct with Redstone Strategies, a company he co-owned; and committed “knowing and willful violations” of the “Ethics in Government Act.”

“In light of the ongoing criminal investigation into Representative Santos, and the ISC’s findings of additional uncharged and unlawful conduct by Representative Santos, the [Investigative Subcommittee] recommended that the Committee immediately refer these allegations to the Department of Justice,” the committee said in a statement.

The House Ethics Committee had launched its investigation into Mr Santos earlier this year into whether he engaged in illegal activity during his 2022 congressional campaign. In May, the committee expanded its investigation.

“ He used his connections to high value donors and other political campaigns to obtain additional funds for himself through fraudulent or otherwise questionable business dealings,” the report said. “And he sustained all of this through a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience.”

Mr Santos began to come under serious scrutiny almost as soon as he flipped an district that includes parts of Queens and Long Island that had voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 as Republicans barely gained the majority in the US House of Representatives. News reports shortly thereafter that he had fabricated multiple parts of his life story, including where he went to college, his employment history and even his ethnicity.