The rhetorical hits keep coming for George Santos, the Republican who recently took office representing portions of New York’s Long Island and New York City in the House and was caught in evident lies about his personal, educational, and business backgrounds.
Beyond public relations concerns, there is also a possibility at least in the perception of some that Santos engaged in criminal activity related to lies he may have told about his finances. New York Democratic Reps. Ritchie Torres and Daniel Goldman, the latter of whom like Santos is entering his first term, have filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee requesting an investigation. That panel can recommend disciplinary action against members by the House and impose financial penalties, as it did on newly departed Congressman Madison Cawthorn, who formally left office last week. The complaint from Torres and Goldman focuses on financial disclosure forms Santos filed with the House when still a candidate. At the outset, his 2022 disclosures were months late. Rules require filing by May, but he made his filings in September, an issue the pair noted.
Torres and Goldman also questioned the content of his disclosures, like the lack of info about what would apparently be the individual clients responsible for an income of $750,000 he claimed from a high-end investment services company he leads. The Congressional duo said they were seeking an investigation for perceptibly violating a federal law known as the Ethics in Government Act “by failing to file timely, accurate, and complete financial disclosure reports as required by law.”
Torres and Goldman also pointed to some of the other revelations recently emerging about Santos. That list includes that he claimed grandparents of his were Holocaust survivors, despite a lack of apparent evidence they were even born in Europe. Biographies also claimed he worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and went to school at Baruch College and New York University. None of those claims were true — and he’s facing a fraud case in Brazil, where authorities were recently reported to be interested in reviving the allegations now that his location was clear.
His involvement wasn’t required for the case to move forward, although he was set to receive formal notification from Brazilian authorities provided through the U.S. Justice Department, assuming the expected process played out. It all depicts Santos as just not credible. Santos “has failed to uphold the integrity expected of members of the House of Representatives,” the newly filed House ethics complaint contended.
BREAKING NEWS:
Dan Goldman and I are filing a formal complaint with the House Ethics Committee against George Santos for violating the Ethics in Government Act.Santos must be held accountable for defrauding both Congress and the public. pic.twitter.com/4zr195rgjf
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) January 10, 2023
George Santos, by his own admission, is an outright fraud. The House has an obligation to police itself and maintain the integrity of the institution.
Today’s Ethics Committee complaint that I filed along with @RepRitchie is the first step to holding George Santos accountable. https://t.co/0x3E8EHqiJ
— Rep. Dan Goldman (@RepDanGoldman) January 10, 2023
