George Santos has confirmed he won’t seek re-election to the US House of Representatives following the release of a damning report.
The House Ethics Committee announced that it had evidence that Republican Representative George Santos stole money from his campaign.
The 56-page report stated there was evidence that the representative misused campaign funds for a wide range of personal expenses, committed fraud, and misled the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
One of the allegations made said the politician made direct deposits from campaign accounts into his personal bank account, paying for OnlyFans and expensive meals.
George Santos criticised the release of the report, calling it "biased".
Reuters
Now, the 35 year old has announced he will not be standing for re-election in 2024 while criticising the release of the report, calling it "biased".
The New York congressman was already facing numerous felony charges in New York under indictment from the Justice Department.
In the report released today, Santos is accused of lying about loaning his own money to his 2022 congressional campaign, then “paying himself back” for those fake loans with real money.
The report also said he recorded 37 expenses of exactly $199.99 - one cent below a threshold set by law that requires campaigns to keep receipts
The report said Santos charged almost $4,000 for spa treatments,
Reuters
The committee's report found that Santos "sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit".
It said Santos charged almost $4,000 for spa treatments, including Botox, to his congressional campaign account, according to the report.
He also spent more than $4,000 of campaign money at the retail store Hermes and made "smaller purchases" from Sephora, a makeup store, and OnlyFans, an online platform known for sexual content
The panel said it would not start disciplinary action itself because the process would provide the congressman "with further opportunity to delay any accountability for his actions and could risk interfering with the ongoing criminal prosecution".
George Santos criticised the release of the report on X, formerly Twitter
Reuters
The report added that his "conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House".
Writing on social media, Santos said: "If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the 'Ethics committee', they would have not released this biased report.
"The Committee went to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming (My legal bills suggest otherwise).
"It is a disgusting politicised smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk. Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of Justice should all be ashamed of themselves."
