Republican Rep. George Santos of New York was indicted on federal charges on Tuesday, accused of lying about his academic credentials and of engaging in campaign finance violations.
CNN reported:
“Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against New York Rep. George Santos, the Republican lawmaker whose astonishing pattern of lies and fabrications stunned even hardened politicos, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
Santos is expected to appear as soon as Wednesday at federal court in New York’s eastern district, where the charges have been filed under seal.
The exact nature of the charges couldn’t immediately be learned but the FBI and the Justice Department public integrity prosecutors in New York and Washington have been examining allegations of false statements in Santos’ campaign finance filings and other claims.”
The report also notes that Santos “has been under investigation in multiple jurisdictions and by the House Ethics Committee.”
Experts believe that the indictment, which was unsealed in Manhattan federal court, charges Santos with one count of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission and one count of wire fraud.
The charges stem from Santos’s 2020 campaign for Congress. In his campaign materials, Santos claimed to have graduated from Yale University and to have earned a master’s degree from Columbia University. However, the indictment alleges that Santos never graduated from either school.
Santos gave an interview with The New York Post where he seemed to come clean about many of the falsehoods he told. Santos confessed that he had misrepresented his college attendance and employment history at high-profile Wall Street firms. He also said that he never graduated from any college and clarified that he had not directly worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
Democrats have repeatedly called on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to urge Santos to resign, but the Speaker refused.
Here’s the story.https://t.co/OR6HYdFiR1
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) May 9, 2023
