Congressional Recess Delays Action Against Santos

ISLAND PARK, NY — With Congress on August recess, Long Island residents are expressing frustration that an ethics committee investigation into Rep. George Santos will be delayed as Congress goes on recess through August.

The House Ethics Committee is looking into the first-termer, who represents portions of Nassau, while Santos also faces federal fraud and money laundering charges.

Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, who has called Santos a "stain" on the institution of government, wants the Ethics Committee to show due diligence with briskness.

"Not that George Santos has any shame, but my hope is that he sees this as a 'hurry up' to maybe make a deal with prosecutors," D'Esposito told Patch in June.

Jody Kass-Finkel, who leads Concerned Citizens of NY-03, said the delay is unwarranted. The threshold for expulsion is not that high.

"All they need to do is determine whether or not Santos is ethical," Kass-Finkel told Patch. "He already admitted on national television that he lied to get elected. I don't know how anyone could think this guy is ethical at this point."

It was D'Esposito (R-Island Park) who introduced a resolution in May to put the focus on House Ethics lawmakers to address Santos' lies and to bring their findings back within 60 days.

"They lied," Kass-Finkel said. "I call it doing a 'Santos' at this point. D'Esposito is trying to con the entire electorate, telling them one thing but he's completely doing something else behind the scenes."

In a brief comment about 60 days coming and going, Matthew Capp, a spokesperson for D'Esposito, said his boss "continues to support the effort to expel George Santos from Congress."

But without lawmakers on Capitol Hill until after Labor Day, Kass-Finkel finds it confusing, at best.

"I don't see how this is in anyone's interest. It's certainly not in Congressman D'Esposito's interest," she said. "We have a fractured delegation from Long Island because of this."

The other problem with keeping Santos in office, Kass-Finkel contended, is that his 3rd District constituents aren't getting proper, if any, representation.

"That's the second part of his grift," she said. "He's getting paid $174,000 a year and he's not doing anything."