Republican Rep. George Santos of New York likely committed campaign fraud and other ethical violations, a House Ethics subcommittee unanimously concluded in a new report Thursday.
Santos “blatantly stole from his campaign” and “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” the Ethics Committee said in a summary of the report.
The full ethics panel, led by Republican Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, unanimously adopted the report from its investigative subcommittee and voted to refer its findings to the Department of Justice.
A spokeswoman for Santos did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The scathing, 56-page ethics report is only the latest blow to Santos, the scandal-plagued freshman lawmaker who is facing a raft of criminal theft and fraud charges in federal court.
Santos, 35, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which accuse of him of crimes including identity theft, submitting false campaign finance reports and stealing unemployment money, among others.
He has vowed not to resign from office, shrugging off a sustained howl of bipartisan criticism and multiple attempts to force him out of Congress.
Santos’ criminal defense lawyer, Joe Murray, did not immediately provide a comment on the ethics report.
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