The ethics committee of the US House of Representatives published this Thursday the investigation report on Republican George Santos, which revealed that the congressman took money from his campaign for “personal items.”
The report, which concluded that Santos “does not deserve his position” but did not call for his ouster, also accused the lawmaker of “inducing” his group to submit false or incomplete reports to the Federal Electoral Commission, which regulates financing. Election campaigns.
The ethics committee, which has been investigating Santos since March of this year, voted to unanimously adopt the report and deliver “substantial evidence of possible violations of federal law” to the Department of Justice to “do such action it deems appropriate,””as detailed in a statement.
“The conduct of Santos deserves public condemnation; it does not uphold the dignity of the office and brings serious disrepute to the House of Representatives,” said the statement accompanying the report.
The publication of this report comes two weeks after the plenary session of the House of Representatives decided not to expel the controversial lawmaker, after a vote of 213 votes in favor and 179 against.
Santos was accused before a New York court of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, perjury, conspiracy against the United States, or falsification of documents, among others, charges to which he pleaded not guilty. -an.
The Republican achieved notoriety earlier, becoming famous for the lies he concocted to get elected in the November 2022 midterm elections.
According to federal prosecutor Breon Peace, Santos “inflated declared campaign income with nonexistent, invented, or stolen loans and contributions.”
Santos’ former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, who was also charged in the case, pleaded guilty to fraud, a fact that, for her detractors, was reason enough to oust her.
Only five congressmen have been expelled in the history of the United States House of Representatives, three of them during the Civil War, for supporting the rebels. The other two were convicted of bribery crimes, among others, in 1980 and 2002.
