Rep. George Santos (R-NY) may have a little sense about him after all. Well, that might be generous.
He made a statement on Tuesday where he requested that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) remove him from his committee assignments.
This comes in the midst of a couple of active criminal investigations into his past.
The newly elected congressman has admitted to lying about aspects of his career and personal life, and he is facing investigations from both federal and local authorities.
“With the ongoing attention surrounding both my personal and campaign financial investigations, I have submitted a request to Speaker McCarthy that I be temporarily recused from my committee assignments until I am cleared,” Santos said in a statement.
He also said that he is taking this decision very seriously and believes that the work of the 118th Congress should continue without media fanfare.
Santos said that he needs to focus on serving the constituents of New York’s 3rd Congressional District without distraction.
The new congressman thanked McCarthy for meeting with him and allowing him to step down from his committee assignments.
He told his constituents that he remained committed to serving the district and delivering results for New York and the American people.
The New York Times reported that law enforcement officials in Brazil “intend to revive fraud charges” against Santos that starting with an incident in 2008 involving a stolen checkbook. The case had been suspended because they could not find Santos, but now that he is in the public eye, they intend to make charges against him.
Santos allegedly admitted to the fraud on a Brazilian social media website the following year.
If convicted, Santos could face up to half a decade in prison.
So he may need some extra time to deal with all his legal issues.
