BREAKING NEWS: Santos says he won’t run for re-election; Ethics Committee finds he acted illegally

Rep. George Santos of New York said his morning he will not run for re-election next year. Santos previously had insisted he would be running. Santos’ statement came moments after the House Ethics Committee released a report on its investigation into allegations against Santos.

The Committee on Ethics this morning said that Santos committed unlawful acts and recommended referring “the substantial evidence of potential violations of federal criminal law to the Department of Justice for such further action as it deems appropriate.”

In a post on “X” (formerly Twitter) 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.

“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 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time. Public service life was never a goal or a dream, but I stepped up to the occasion when I felt my country needed it most. I will 100% continue to maintain my commitment to my conservative values in my remaining time in Congress.”

Ethics Committee Chairman Republican Michael Guest and Democratic Ranking Member Susan Wild issued a joint statement in which they said a report has been submitted to the full House of Represent-atives that includes a copy of a report prepared by an investigative subcommittee (ISC) that looked into the Santos matter.

“At the completion of its investigation, the ISC unanimously concluded that there was substantial evidence that Representative George 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,” their statement said.

The investigative subcommittee unanimously recommended that the full Committee on Ethics immediately refer the allegations to the Department of Justice and noted that Santos already is under federal indictment. The subcommittee determined that “Representative Santos’ conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House.”

The Committee on Ethics fell short of recommending that Santos be expelled from the House.