Thread by @LisaDNews

Let's break down the House Ethics Committee report on Rep. Santos.

First thing you should know is that this committee is best known for being cautious. And slow. Some would say they pull punches. They rarely - very rarely - issue sharp statements definitively blasting members wholesale.

2/

So the first lines about their findings are like none I have ever seen. The committee found:

"Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit."

Note: *every aspect*.

3/

They go on, in case not clear:

- "He blatantly stole from his campaign."
- "He deceived donors into ... payments for his personal benefit."
- "He reported fictitious loans ... "
- "He sustained ... a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff ..."

4/

And there is how he handled the investigation.

"...despite his attempts to blame others for much of the misconduct, Rep. Santos was a knowing and active participant in the wrongdoing. Particularly troubling was Rep. Santos’ lack of candor during the investigation itself."

5/

The committee went against DOJ's wishes here. DOJ wanted them to wait so it could finish.

They went forward, based on a few things, including "concern that ... deferring would effectively prevent the Committee from exercising any oversight of Representative Santos’ conduct."

6/

Let's do the investigation stats! Per the committee:

- 37 subpoenas
- over 40 witnesses
- 172,000 pages of documents

- Did NOT subpoena Santos as his lawyer indicated he would take the 5th, and committee believed that would add delay.

7/

Per the committee, Santos' *own campaign team* gave him a 141-page "Vulnerability Report" in Dec. 2021 - 11 months before the election - that laid out his lie about college/MBA and questioned his finances/assets.

Campaign staff encouraged him to drop out. He refused. They quit.

The committee gives a list of campaign expenses that it questions - Airbnb, Botox, Atlantic City, Las Vegas.