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WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (AP) It should be a triumphant moment for Republicans who are poised to take back control of the House of Representatives in next week’s new Congress, but their leaders are fighting for a frightening campaign of their own. Struggling with awkward distractions: What to do about George Santos?
Weeks after winning a district that helped Republicans secure their razor-thin House majority, the congressman-elect is under investigation in New York after acknowledging he lied about his heritage, education and professional pedigree as he campaigned for office.
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House Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California and his leadership team have remained silent on Santos, who will be sworn in Tuesday, even as he publicly admitted to fabricating his biography. The now-embattled Republican has shown no signs of backing down, setting aside his decision to hold him accountable to his party and Congress, and could soon face an investigation by the House Ethics Committee once sworn in.
Representatives for McCarthy, who is running to become the next House speaker, did not respond when asked what action he might take against Santos. Santos was asked on Fox News on Tuesday about “blatantly lying,” and responded that he “made a mistake.”
Democrats, who will be in the minority in the upcoming session, are expected to take a number of avenues against Santos, 34, including potentially filing a complaint with the FEC and introducing a resolution that would remove him once he becomes an incumbent. its expulsion. said a senior Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal deliberations.
“We need answers from George Santos. He appears to be a complete liar. His entire life story is a fabrication,” the incoming House Democratic leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, told reporters last week. . “He’s going to have to answer the question: Did you defraud voters in the 3rd Congressional District? New York?”
Questions were first raised about Santos when The New York Times published an investigation into Santos’ résumé earlier this month and found some major discrepancies. Santos has since pleaded guilty to falsely claiming to have Jewish ancestry, falsely claiming to work at a Wall Street bank and falsely claiming to have a college degree.
Santos has yet to address other lingering issues, including the source of his seemingly rapidly accumulating personal wealth, despite recent financial troubles, including evictions and thousands of dollars owed in rent.
Santos in November won a seat in the Long Island area represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, making headlines as the first non-incumbent, openly gay Republican to be elected to Congress.
If Santos takes office, he could still face an investigation by the House ethics committee, which examines allegations of lawmaker misconduct. The committee, which is decided equally among the parties, has the power to subpoena members to testify or produce documents under chamber rules, which lawmakers must comply with.
Commission spokesman Tom Last declined to comment this week on whether the commission could or would investigate Santos. Although his conduct occurred before he joined the House, the committee has argued for years that it may investigate violations of laws, regulations or standards of conduct during his initial campaign for the House.
But the ethics complaint may end up being the least of Santos’ problems.
Federal prosecutors in New York have begun looking into Santos’ background and his financial dealings, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. Prosecutors are particularly interested in Santos’ accumulated earnings and are reviewing campaign finance documents, people who have warned that the review is in its early stages.
The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing review and requested anonymity.
The district attorney in Nassau County, N.Y., announced on Wednesday that it would investigate Santos’ fabrications in his campaign to represent the state’s 3rd district, which includes some Long Island suburbs and a small portion of New York City’s Queens borough.
Anne T. Donnelly, a Republican, Nassau County District Attorney, said the fabrications and inconsistencies were “simply appalling.”
“Residents of Nassau County and the rest of the Third District must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress,” she said. “If a crime is committed in this county, we will prosecute it.”
On Thursday, the Queens District Attorney’s Office said it was investigating whether Santos broke any laws.
“We are reviewing whether the District of Queens has jurisdiction over any potential criminal offenses,” said a spokesman for the agency, who declined to be named because they were talking about a public investigation.
Rep.-elect Nick LaLota, a Republican whose district borders Santos’, issued a statement Wednesday calling for an ethics investigation into the allegations. Govern.” (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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