Rep. George Santos, RN.Y., the freshman congressman accused of fabricating key parts of his resume, is being accused of ethics violations and sexual harassment by a potential former congressional aide, according to a letter posted on Twitter on Friday.
In the letter to the House Ethics Committee, Derek Myers accused Santos of groping him while he was working for the lawmaker’s office as a volunteer and requested an investigation into the alleged incident of sexual harassment, as well as whether proper procedure related to his involvement was followed. I work as a volunteer in the Santos office.
Myers said Santos offered him a job, then briefly «volunteered» in the lawmakers’ office while his paperwork was processed before the offer was rescinded last week.
Myers alleged that on January 25, Santos asked him if he had an account on Grindr, a popular dating app used by millions of gay men, and Santos shared that he had a profile himself. Myers said later that day that he was alone with Santos in his personal office on January 25 working on mail when Santos «called me ‘buddy’ and insisted that I sit next to him in a small couch».
He alleged that Santos then invited him to go to karaoke that night. Myers said she declined Santos’ invitation, before the lawmaker poked her in the groin and said her husband was out of town.
Myers also alleged that his volunteering, which he said included answering phones, reading mail and communicating with constituents, «inside a congressional office without proper procedures being followed is a violation of House ethics.»
News of Myers’ allegations was first reported by The New York Times. A spokesman for Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., a ranking member of the Ethics Committee, confirmed to NBC News that Myers’ letter had been received and declined to provide further comment.
myers he tweeted on friday who also filed a report with the Capitol Police and a complaint with the Congressional Ethics Office. Capitol Police have not responded to NBC News’ request for comment.
Myers was charged last year with wiretapping in Ohio after a small newspaper he ran released audio courtroom testimony that someone else originally recorded and sent to him. journalism organizations he asked that all charges against Myers be dropped.
The allegations come as Santos faces intense scrutiny following an explosive New York Times investigation in December that showed much of his resume appeared to have been fabricated, including claims that he owned numerous properties, was previously employed by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and had attended and graduated from Baruch College.
Santos has admitted to some of the fabrications on his resume while trying to downplay his lies. In comments to the New York Post In December, Santos said: “My sins here embellish my resume. I’m sorry.»
Although some fellow Republicans have called for him to resign, including Republican lawmakers in New York state, the GOP Steering Committee, led by Chairman Kevin McCarthy, voted to give him two committee seats. Last month, Santos said he would recuse himself from his committee assignments amid multiple investigations into his finances and other matters.