George Santos must come clean

House Republicans went round after round and into the night Thursday without picking a speaker and getting to the business of governing. The internecine fight doesn't augur well.

And George Santos was sitting there, a sideshow to the spectacle. But as soon as someone wins the gavel and the members are sworn in, there is one question that should be at the top of their agenda: Does Santos deserve a seat?

Santos cannot even begin to gain the trust of his colleagues — or credibly represent his Nassau County and Queens constituents — without coming clean on the most pressing questions about his finances and background.

They include:

• Where did the Republican newcomer get the money to loan his campaign over $700,000, as he has logged in campaign finance filings? A crucial piece of this puzzle is the $81,250 he loaned it in 2019 and 2020, a time when his financial disclosures practically cried poverty.
• What are the true details of his 7-year marriage to a woman, which ended in divorce in 2019? Santos has been openly gay for more than a decade; could improper financial considerations or immigration fraud have been part of that union? Santos did not acknowledge the previous marriage on the campaign trail.
• What was the purpose of the tens of thousands of dollars of campaign money Santos spent on airfare, hotels like Trump International in Washington, and at restaurants like Il Bacco Ristorante in Little Neck, Queens, not to mention jaunts to Orlando and Las Vegas? Donor money is not supposed to be spent on personal use. And Santos’ campaign finance filings, which include a network of firms he says he paid, are marked by multiple questionable practices, such as expenses listed as $199.99, just below the level where receipts would be required.
• Where does he actually live? It’s an important question and not just for transparency’s sake. It would be illegal for him to vote in an election district that did not include his primary residence. More importantly, this information is needed to know whether he improperly used campaign funds to cover his rent.
• Did he operate a legitimate animal rescue charity? The Friends of Pets United group he once used to solicit donations does not appear to be registered in New York. Is there an accounting for how the donations were spent?

It's a staggering list of unknowns. Santos is now under criminal and civil inquiries by federal, state and county investigators.

After the speaker vote is settled, the House Ethics Committee must open and expedite an investigation into Santos' election filings and financial dealings. Best, however, would be for Santos to come clean himself. The longer he doesn’t, the longer the list of questions grows.