The Republican-led House Ethics Committee said Thursday that it has issued dozens of subpoenas and requests for information in connection with its investigation of Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who was indicted last month on 13 counts, including making materially false statements to the House.
In a statement, the committee, which has been investigating Santos since early March, said that it was “actively working to resolve this matter in an expeditious timeframe” and that it had issued over 30 subpoenas and more than 40 voluntary requests for information. It did not say who had been subpoenaed, nor did it provide any information on the nature of the subpoenas, citing House and Committee rules on the confidentiality of its work.
The ethics panel voted in February to establish an investigative subcommittee, led by Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, to determine whether Santos had engaged in unlawful activity during his 2022 campaign, failed to properly disclose required information in documents filed with the House, breached federal conflict-of-interest laws in connection with his role at a firm providing fiduciary services and/or engaged in sexual misconduct toward a former prospective aide.
In a separate investigation, Santos pleaded not guilty last month at a Long Island courthouse to a 13-count federal indictment charging him with wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making materially false statements to the House. Santos, who had previously acknowledged lying about his background, called the charges a “witch hunt.” He is due next in court on June 30.
The committee typically steps aside when the Justice Department picks up a probe into a member of Congress, but Joyce has said that the panel will continue to investigate the New York Republican for any ethics issues within the panel’s jurisdiction.
In its statement Thursday, the panel said that it has been in touch with the DOJ to “mitigate the potential risks” of dual investigations while “still meeting the Committee’s obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House.”
The committee also said that many of the charges in the indictment were already within the scope of its inquiry and that it voted to expand the probe’s jurisdiction to include three additional counts stemming from allegations that Santos fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits.
Santos announced his re-election campaign in April, before he was indicted and in spite of calls from fellow Republicans to resign.
Representatives for Santos and the Ethics Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Source – NBC News
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