George Santos.Photo: Sipa via AP Images
Speaking to CNN, McCarthy said: “Ethics is moving through, and if Ethics finds something, we’ll take action. Right now, we’re not allowing him to be on committees from the standpoint of the questions that have arisen.”
Santos recently told colleagues he wouldtemporarily resignfrom his assignments on the Small Business and Science Committees while various investigations into his past play out.
“If for some way when we go through Ethics and he has broken the law, then we will remove him, but it’s not my role,” McCarthytold reporters last month. “I believe in the rule of law. A person’s innocent until proven guilty.”
George Santos.Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty
Santos came under fire in December, whenThe New York Timesreported that a large portion of his biography could not be substantiated. The outlet alleged that he misled voters about his level of education, previous jobs and family ties to the Holocaust, news that earned bipartisan condemnation in recent days for misrepresenting himself.
In an interview with theNew York Post, thecongressman admitted he liedabout working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as he had previously asserted, and revealed that he had also embellished his education, noting that he did not attend Baruch College or New York University.
In the weeks since theTimes' bombshell story about Santos,a number of other allegationsabout Santos have surfaced, including that he once claimed to be a college volleyball star despite not attending college and that he once falsely claimed to be an actor who appeared onHannah Montanaand in feature films.
But more serious questions about Santos' background remain, including those about his finances and the source of his campaign funding.
Various non-partisan groups and investigators are now pushing to uncover the source of those funds and to determinewhether Santos may have used campaign resourcesto cover personal expenses, like his rent, or falsified the disclosure of day-to-day campaign expenses.
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Late last month,TheWashington Postreported that the DOJ asked the Federal Election Commission to hold off on taking any action against Santos — a signal that the DOJ itself may be investigating the Republican’s campaign finances, which have raised numerous questions.
Federal investigators are also reportedly looking into claims that Santos oncescammed a Navy veteran out of $3,000meant for his ailing service dog, CNN andPoliticoreported earlier this month.
source: people.com
