The House Ethics Committee began a formal investigation into Rep. Santos. Among the allegations being investigated: 👉 possible “unlawful activity” during his campaign 👉 violation of conflict of interest laws 👉 a sexual misconduct allegation
House Ethics is just the latest to add to the Santos inquiry pileup, with the panel only fully organizing earlier this week. Federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York are also reportedly investigating him, and the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission calling for a probe into the embattled Republican. New York Attorney General Tish James said her team would review Santos’ false claims.
The competing inquiries could draw out what is already a very slow process within House Ethics. It is common for the Department of Justice to ask the House or Senate Ethics panels to hit pause on their inquiries while a federal investigation plays out. But even if they don’t, Ethics investigations typically take many months.of allegations against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , related to allegations of rule violations related to the 2021 Met Gala.
Ocasio-Cortez’s case was first referred to House Ethics back in June 2021 by the Office of Congressional Ethics, the nonpartisan, independent body that reviews allegations of misconduct involving House staff and lawmakers and refers cases to the House panel. The Ethics Committee also extended their review in early December last year.
OCE found that there were delays in some payments to vendors associated with the congresswoman’s visit to the Met Gala. “The Congresswoman finds these delays unacceptable, and she has taken several steps to ensure nothing of this nature will happen again,” her spokesperson Lauren Hitt said on Thursday. “While regrettable, these delayed payments definitively do not rise to the level of a violation of House Rules.”“We are confident the Ethics Committee will dismiss this matter,” Hitt said.CORRECTION: A previous version of this report misspelled the name of Rep. Ritchie Torres.
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