George Santos won’t seek reelection after ethics report reveals OnlyFans campaign spending: LIVE

Republican New York Representative George Santos has announced that he won’t seek re-election in 2024 following the release of a damning ethics report.

Mr Santos wrote on X that he wouldn’t be seeking “a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time”.

The House Ethics Committee said in a statement on Thursday that Mr Santos “knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with RedStone Strategies LLC; and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to his Financial Disclosure (FD) Statements filed with the House”.

The report also examined Mr Santos’s use of Redstone Strategies, a limited liability corporation affiliated with him, and how at least $200,000 worth of money was transferred from its account to Mr Santos’s personal account. After one $50,000 transfer, Mr Santos paid down his credit card debt and made a $4,127.80 purchase at Hermes and smaller purchases at Only Fans and Sephora as well as for botox, meals, and parking.

Key Points

• Santos was ‘ultimate beneficiary and knowing participant’ of campaign’s fraudulent reporting

• Santos behind ‘constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff'

• Santos slammed by fellow New York Republicans

• Santos could face post-Thanksgiving expulsion vote

• Santos staffers allegedly plotted to spy on media

Santos accused of using campaign funds for OnlyFans and other key revelations from Ethics report

Thursday 16 November 2023 21:30 , John Bowden

The long-awaited House Ethics Committee investigation into embattled New York Rep George Santos is here, and boy is it a doozy.

A lengthy report from the committee published on Thursday stated that there was credible evidence to indicate that the Republican misused campaign funds for a wide range of personal expenses, committed fraud, and misled the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

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Santos ‘should have resigned a long time ago'

Thursday 16 November 2023 21:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington President Noah Bookbinder said in a statement that “George Santos’s pattern of dishonest and illegal conduct is outrageous and continues to get more so”.

“He should have resigned a long time ago. It is to the House Ethics Committee’s credit that it conducted a serious investigation and uncovered even more wrongdoing by Santos. Enough is enough, Santos needs to resign today,” he added.

Santos was ‘ultimate beneficiary and knowing participant’ of campaign’s fraudulent reporting

Thursday 16 November 2023 20:30 , Eric Garcia

Mr Santos began to come under serious scrutiny almost as soon as he flipped a 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.

The report said that Mr Santos was the “ultimate beneficiary and knowing participant” of much of his campaign’s fraudulent reporting since they allowed him to meet benchmarks to receive national party support.

Santos behind ‘constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff'

Thursday 16 November 2023 20:00 , Eric Garcia

The House Ethics Committee launched its investigation into Mr Santos earlier this year to find 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.”

Santos slammed by fellow New York Republicans

Thursday 16 November 2023 19:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Santos, who has evaded two votes to oust him from the House, was severely criticised by his New York Republican colleagues.

“George Santos should end this farce and resign immediately,” Rep Mike Lawler told Semafor. “If he refuses, he must be removed from Congress. His conduct is not only unbecoming and embarrassing, it is criminal. He is unfit to serve and if he had any dignity, he would resign today.”

Fellow New York GOP Rep Nick LaLota told the outlet that Mr Santos “was never running for re-election” and noted that he thinks the legal and ethics investigations into him would end before election season.

“The question now is: Will he take a plea deal that includes resignation before November 28th when the House returns to session and can expel him?” he asked.

Santos could face post-Thanksgiving expulsion vote

Thursday 16 November 2023 19:00 , Gustaf Kilander

The chair of the Ethics panel, GOP Rep Michael Guest, told CQ Roll Call that he was set to file a motion to expel Mr Santos this week, meaning that a vote on the matter may be held following Thanksgiving break.

The top Democrat on the panel, Rep Susan Wild, said, “I intend to vote yes on any privileged expulsion resolution ... as the work of the Committee is now complete, and I am no longer obligated to maintain neutrality as a Member of the Ethics Committee,” according to HuffPost.

Santos staffers allegedly plotted to spy on media

Thursday 16 November 2023 18:45 , Gustaf Kilander

Santos ‘managed to cultivate a strong office culture rather quickly'

Thursday 16 November 2023 18:30 , Gustaf Kilander

McCarthy said in January that it was ‘unfortunate’ that Biden has more power than Santos

Thursday 16 November 2023 18:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Santos appears to have lied about cooperating with Ethics panel

Thursday 16 November 2023 18:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Read Santos’s full statement

Thursday 16 November 2023 17:50 , Gustaf Kilander

George Santos

Santos GOP rival says he’s ‘finally taking a step in the right direction’

Thursday 16 November 2023 17:16 , Kelly Rissman

Kellen Curry, a Republican running for the GOP nomination in Mr Santos’s district, told The Independent: “George Santos is finally taking a step in the right direction, but our country is at a crossroads.”

“Our troops have been fired upon over 50 times since the Hamas attacks on Israel, our southern border is being overrun by illegal immigration with the help of terrorists, and our spending addiction continues to rob the next generation of prosperity and opportunity,” he added. “Today marks the beginning of a renewed focus on the issues that matter, instead of the distraction of the last 11 months. NY-3 constituents are calling for experienced, next generation leaders to serve in Congress who will fight to keep us safe, control spending, and bring people together around a shared vision of getting America back on track. I’m humbled to step forward to be that leader.”

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

Thursday 16 November 2023 16:54 , Eric Garcia

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.

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George Santos won’t seek re-election after damning ethics report

Thursday 16 November 2023 16:53 , Gustaf Kilander

Republican New York Representative George Santos has announced that he won’t seek re-election in 2024 following the release of a damning ethics report.

The freshman congressman made the revelation to Semafor on Thursday.

In a lengthy statement on X, Mr Santos wrote that wouldn’t be seeking “a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time”.

The House Ethics Committee said in a statement on Thursday that Mr Santos “knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with RedStone Strategies LLC; and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to his Financial Disclosure (FD) Statements filed with the House”.

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