Washington, DC – October 11 : Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., walks to a House Republican Conference Speaker candidate forum being held in the Longworth Building on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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Republican Rep. George Santos of New York likely committed campaign fraud and other ethical violations, a House Ethics subcommittee unanimously concluded in a new report Thursday.
Santos “blatantly stole from his campaign” and “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” according to the report from the investigative body of the House Ethics Committee.
The full ethics panel, led by Republican Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, unanimously adopted the report and voted to refer its findings to the Department of Justice.
A spokeswoman for Santos’ office, and his defense lawyer Joe Murray, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
The scathing, 56-page ethics report is only the latest blow to Santos, the scandal-plagued freshman lawmaker who is facing a raft of criminal theft and fraud charges in New York federal court.
Santos, 35, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which accuse him of crimes including identity theft, submitting false campaign finance reports and stealing unemployment money, among others.
He has vowed not to resign from office, shrugging off a sustained howl of bipartisan criticism and multiple attempts to force him out of Congress.
The subcommittee’s investigation covered many of the alleged actions that were first brought to light in the federal charges.
Santos “deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit,” the report said.
Santos also allegedly reported fake loans to his political committees to lure donors and party committees to make more contributions to his campaign, “and then diverted more campaign money to himself as purported ‘repayments’ of those fictitious loans.”
And he used his political connections to get more funds for himself “through fraudulent or otherwise questionable business dealings,” the report said.
Santos carried out all of these schemes “through a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience,” the report alleged.
The subcommittee took him to task for failing to cooperate with investigators about how his campaign funds were managed and where his personal and political money came from.
“Santos has not only refused to provide requested documents and sit for a voluntary interview, he has failed to address most of the allegations under review,” according to the report.
Despite his effort to blame aides for the theft, the committee said he was both a knowing participant and the ultimate beneficiary of the alleged fraud.
“The falsely reported personal loans and contributions helped him meet benchmarks needed to win the support of the national party and project a strong campaign to the public,” the report said.
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