Democrats press ethics panel on George Santos bail guarantors
Rep. George Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) shown outside the U.S. Capitol in May. Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite
WASHINGTON — Two House Democrats filed a measure Wednesday demanding that the House Ethics Committee disclose whether Rep. George Santos has provided the panel with names of individuals who guaranteed his $500,000 bond.
The resolution, filed by Reps. Dan Goldman (D-Brooklyn) and Greg Landsman (D-Cincinnati), also calls on the ethics panel to deliver an interim report on its investigation of Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) by July 17. The committee launched its probe of Santos in March, saying it would focus on his financial disclosures, questions surrounding his 2022 campaign and his conduct while in office.
The resolution announced Wednesday asks the Ethics Committee to reveal whether Santos complied with the panel’s earlier request that he disclose the identities of those who co-signed his $500,000 bond in May after he was indicted by federal prosecutors on 13-counts of fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds.
Goldman in a statement said Santos’ “potential refusal to comply with the House Ethics request raises the prospect that an admitted and indicted fraudster may be receiving benefits from mystery actors with unknown motives.”
U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert ruled Tuesday that the names of Santos’ bail suretors must be made public on Thursday.
Last month, Santos’ attorney Joe Murray objected to providing the names to the panel, according to a copy of his letter to the Ethics Committee Murray made public in federal court filings. Murray argued the bail guarantors were family members and not subject to the House’s reporting requirements for gifts and loans.
Santos, in a text message to Newsday Wednesday, accused Goldman of “trying to weaponize his position in congress to interfere with the non partisan investigation" by the Ethics Committee.
“This should be of concern to all members of this body, and to the American people” Santos said. “My legal team has complied with all the requests made from the ethics committee and will continue to do so.”
A spokesperson for Rep. Michael Guest (R-Mississippi), chairman of the House Ethics Committee, referred all questions to the panel’s chief counsel Tom Rust, who did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The Ethics Committee must approve Goldman's and Landsman's resolution before it can be scheduled for a floor vote in the Republican-controlled House.
In her ruling, Seybert gave Santos the option to “modify the conditions of his release, should the Suretors seek to withdraw from serving as suretors.”
Murray indicated previously in court filings that one of three initial suretors withdrew their support after the “media frenzy” surrounding the indictment.
In court filings, Murray has objected to making the names public, arguing that doing so would subject the individuals to “hateful attacks.”
Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.
