US Representative George Santos (R-NY) walks through the House Chamber because the House of Representatives continues voting for brand new speaker on the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 5, 2023.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Two Latest York Democratic congressmen filed a House Ethics Committee criticism Tuesday against Rep. George Santos, the freshman Latest York Republican who recently was found to have lied about and embellished details on his resume.
Reps. Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman, in a six-page letter, called on the panel to probe Santos for possibly violating the federal Ethics in Government Act “by failing to file timely, accurate and complete financial disclosure reports as required by law.”
The letter, which the lawmakers hand-delivered to Santos’ office on Capitol Hill, called the financial disclosure reports filed for his 2020 and 2022 campaigns “sparse and perplexing.”
“At a minimum, it is obvious that he didn’t file timely disclosure reports for his most up-to-date campaign,” Torres and Goldman wrote.
“Furthermore, his own public statements have contradicted some information included within the 2022 financial disclosure and confirmed that the 2022 financial disclosure didn’t disclose other required information,” the letter said.
The criticism to the panel, which is comprised of members of Congress, was filed a day after the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan watchdog group, filed a criticism against Santos with the Federal Election Commission for allegedly violating quite a few campaign finance laws.
The letter Tuesday by the 2 Democratic lawmakers noted that media reports and Santos’ “own admissions” in recent weeks have shown that he “misled voters in his District about ethnicity, his religion, his education, and his employment and skilled history, amongst other things.”
The Nassau County, Long Island, District Attorney’s Office is investigating Santos in reference to those false statements.
In a tweet concerning the criticism, Torres wrote, “Santos should be held accountable for defrauding each Congress and the general public.”
 Goldman told reporters, “We hope that the House Ethics Committee will seriously investigate.”
A spokeswoman for Santos, who represents a district that covers parts of Queens and Long Island, Latest York, didn’t return a request for comment.
The Hill reported that in response to the criticism, Santos said, “They’re free to do whatever they wish to do.”
“I even have done nothing unethical,” Santos said, in line with The Hill.
On Monday, after the Republican-controlled House passed recent rules that may undercut the ability of the Office of Congressional Ethics to conduct investigations of lawmakers, Santos told the media outlet Insider, “I believe it’s unbelievable.”
OCE, which is an independent, non-partisan entity established by the House, is distinct from the House Ethics Committee.
Residents United and one other advocacy group, American Bridge twenty first Century, recently filed complaints against Santos with the Office of Congressional Ethics.
