New York Reps. Dan Goldman (D) and Ritchie Torres (D) sent a letter to GOP leadership demanding that they explain what they knew of Rep. George Santos’s (R-N.Y.) lies about his resume and biography, and when they knew it.
“In light of recent public reporting indicating that each of you had at least some knowledge of the web of lies used by Congressman George Santos to deceive his voters long before they became public, we write to request that you proactively and forthrightly cooperate with all current and future investigations into Mr. Santos, including the investigation by the House Committee on Ethics that Speaker McCarthy confirmed this week,” stated the letter, which was obtained by CBS News.
Goldman and Torres sent the letter Sunday to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) and Dan Conston, president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, a PAC that helps fund Republican House candidates.
Santos has come under fire following revelations that he fabricated parts of his resume and biography, with both Democrats and Republicans calling on him to resign. Santos has vowed to remain in Congress, and McCarthy said Santos will “continue to serve.”
The letter outlines public reporting on Santos that has suggested that McCarthy and Stefanik, along with other top members of the Republican Party, had prior knowledge of Santos’s lies during his campaign.
“It is one thing for a candidate such as Mr. Santos to induce voters to support him based on a web of lies,” the letter reads. “But it is altogether something else if the top levels of Republican leadership knew about Mr. Santos’s lies during the campaign and chose to be complicit.”
“The American people also have a right to know whether Republican leadership, including each of you, was complicit in perpetrating this fraud on the voters,” the letter added. “We therefore call upon you to explain to the public what you knew about Mr. Santos’s lies and when you knew it.”
Goldman and Torres introduced the Santos Act on Thursday, which would require candidates to submit more personal information about themselves when filing to run for Congress. It would also establish financial penalties for those who lie about their credentials.