Controversial Republican congressman George Santos has said he will not seek re-election next year following a damning report released by the ethics committee of the US House of Representatives.
The committee’s leadership said the conduct of Mr Santos “warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House”.
The report maintained that Mr Santos had “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit”.
The report stated: “He blatantly stole from his campaign. He deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit.”
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The committee report recommended that allegations against the New York politician should be referred to the US department of justice for investigation.
However, it stopped short of calling for him to be expelled from the US Congress, to which he was elected last year.
Shortly after his election last November significant parts of the his curriculum vitae were found to be untrue. He later acknowledged “embellishing” his record.
Mr Santos hit back strongly at the committee’s report which he described on social media as “a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk”.
He added: “Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of justice should all be ashamed of themselves. ”
However, Mr Santos also announced that he would not run for election again next November.
“I will remain steadfast in fighting for my rights and for defending my name in the face of adversity. I am humbled yet again and reminded that I am human and I have flaws, but I will not stand by as I am stoned by those who have flaws themselves. 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”, he said.
The ethics committee found that Mr Santos had “reported fictitious loans to his political committees to induce donors and party committees to make further contributions to his campaign – and then diverted more campaign money to himself as purported ‘repayments’ of those fictitious loans”.
“He used his connections to high value donors and other political campaigns to obtain additional funds for himself through fraudulent or otherwise questionable business dealings.
“And he sustained all of this through a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience.”.
Earlier this month the House of Representatives rejected moves to expel Mr Santos when the issue was raised by his fellow New York Republicans. Some members were wary about removing someone from the House of Representatives without due process being completed.
However it seemed likely that the issue would re-emerge following the publication of the report of the ethics committee.
If removed by the House, Mr Santos would be the first politician to be expelled without having been convicted of a crime.
Mr Santos was charged by federal prosecutors in May on 13 counts, including defrauding his donors, using their money for his personal benefit and wrongfully claiming unemployment benefits.
In a superseding indictment made public in October, he was indicted on 10 additional chargers.
The New York politician has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
