George Santos 'blatantly stole' from his campaign, ethics committee says

A congressional panel said George Santos "blatantly stole from his campaign" and exploited "every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit".

In a report on Thursday the House ethics committee referred Representative Santos to the Department of Justice for possible prosecution.

Mr Santos, a Republican from New York, has been caught in a series of alleged lies since being elected last year.

He has denied wrongdoing.

The ethics committee said it would not start disciplinary action itself because it would provide the congressman "with further opportunity to delay any accountability for his actions and could risk interfering with the ongoing criminal prosecution".

It added, though, that his "conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House".

Mr Santos was indicted on fraud charges last month.

The ethics committee - which is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats - found that Mr Santos reported fictitious loans to his political committees in order to induce donors to make further contributions to his campaign.

He then diverted campaign money to himself as "repayments" of those fictitious loans.

"He used his connections to high value donors and other political campaigns to obtain additional funds for himself through fraudulent or otherwise questionable business dealings," the committee said in a report. "And he sustained all of this through a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience."

Earlier this month, Santos survived a vote to expel him from the House of Representatives.

Only five lawmakers have been expelled in US history, including three during the nation's civil war.