By Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. House Representative George Santos said he will not run for reelection after a damning House Ethics Committee report referred “additional uncharged and unlawful conduct” by him to the Justice Department on Thursday.
Santos, a first-term lawmaker from the New York area has already pleaded not guilty to a 23-count federal indictment accusing him of an array of corruption, including 10 felony counts that federal prosecutors added in October.
“I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed. I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024,” Santos said in a post on the X social media site. “My family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time.”
“Representative Santos’ conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House” of Representatives, the bipartisan committee said in a statement.
Santos’ office did not immediately return a request for comment. A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment.
Ethics Chairman Michael Guest, a Republican, intended to file a motion to expel on Friday, according to media reports.
The committee’s report found that Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” adding that “despite his attempts to blame others for much of the misconduct, Representative Santos was a knowing and active participant in the wrongdoing.”
The report also said Santos declined to file a written statement in his own defense or testify under oath and refused to provide documents requested by the committee.
“Representative Santos’ repeated public statements that he would like to prove his innocence and is cooperating with the ISC’s (Investigative Subcommittee) investigation are belied by his consistent failure to meaningfully cooperate with the ISC’s review,” the report said.
The Ethics Committee has been investigating him for months, having contacted “approximately 40 witnesses, reviewed more than 170,000 pages of documents, and authorized 37 subpoenas,” according to a statement released on Oct. 31.
Santos survived a vote to expel him from the House brought by fellow House Republicans from New York state in early November.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton; additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
