New York’s Republican Rep. George Santos will face federal charges as prosecutors have filed charges against the lawmaker who has lied about much of his biography and who faces several other investigations, three people familiar with the matter tell CNN, the network reports.
The charges against Santos will be unsealed as soon as Wednesday after he appears in New York’s Eastern District federal courthouse.
While no details of the charges have been released, the FBI and Justice Department public integrity prosecutors are investigating accusations that Santos falsified campaign finance disclosures.
In January, federal prosecutors from the DOJ public integrity unit asked the Federal Election Commission to step aside from a probe that the agency was conducting in order to allow for a federal criminal probe to continue.
Neither Santos’ office nor the FBI responded to The Advocate’s request for comment. A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment
The House Ethics Committee is currently investigating the gay lawmaker over his financial dealings as well as accusations of sexual misconduct.
In addition to several top Democrats, some New York Republicans have also called for Santos’ resignation over allegations of criminal activity and dishonesty on his campaign trail.
Over the short period since Santos was elected, he was accused of violating campaign finance laws, breaking federal conflict-of-interest laws, swindling an Iraq War vet’s dying dog, and lying about his education and employment.
Although Santos admitted lying about his education and finances, the more serious allegations against him persist. Santos has repeatedly denied any criminal wrongdoing.
The House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, said he would consider whether to remove Santos from Congress after reviewing the charges.
“I’ll look at the charges,” the California GOP lawmaker told CNN.
This story is developing...
