Already looking into a variety of misdeeds by the freshman Representative, the House Ethics Committee expanded its investigation into Republican New York Congressman George Santos to include potential unemployment insurance fraud, Roll Call reports.
In an unusual move, the Committee–comprised of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats–announced it will continue its investigation into Santos’s alleged crimes even as the Department of Justice prosecutes Santos for 13 counts related to financial fraud. Typically, the Committee would suspend its investigations while a criminal investigation was ongoing; it did so for accusations that Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz paid an underage girl for sex after trafficking her across state lines and that he showed inappropriate photos to House members in the Chamber, but it recently reopened those investigations.
One of the charges Santos faces in federal court is that he illegally collected more than $20,000 in unemployment benefits while he was collecting a salary from an investment firm his family runs. Santos faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of all federal charges; if the Ethics Committee finds Santos violated House rules, Kevin McCarthy will likely do nothing because IOKIYAR.