House

Santos threatens former colleagues with ethics complaints in late-night rant

by Nick Robertson - 12/02/23 10:20 AM ET

Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) in late-night posts on social media pledged to file ethics complaints against several of his House colleagues after he was expelled from office Friday.

His threats were levied against Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) and Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) over campaign finance violations and other ethics claims. The embattled former lawmaker said he will file official complaints Monday.

New York Republicans led the GOP push to oust Santos, who was himself accused of campaign finance violations, lying to donors and fraud. He faces 23 criminal charges for his alleged conduct, including wire fraud, identity theft and theft of public funds, but he has not been tried.

Santos said the complaint against Malliotakis will focus on “her questionable stock trading since joining the Ways and Means committee this Congress.”

“Let’s talk about hypocrisy. Can someone ask Nicole MalioStockTips when did she become a savant in stock trading?” Santos posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, late Friday.

“The signature bank trades she did REEKS of insider trading much like Paul Pelosi’s every trade!” he added, referring to the husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has been accused of using information from Congress to profit on the stock market.

“Before joining the committee [Malliotakis] didn’t have an active trading habit or a high volume stake,” Santos continued. “The question is, what set of information is she trading with?”

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The Lawler claims center on allegations that he funneled campaign expenses through a company he has a stake in.

“The concerning questions are; is Mr Lawler engaging in laundering money form his campaign to his firm then into his own pocket?” Santos wrote in another post. “I will let the Office of Congressional Ethics be the judge of that.”

Against LaLota, Santos raised assertions that the fellow Long Island congressman was a “no-show” at his local board of elections job while attending law school.

“Did Rep Lalota no-show to his tax pay funded job while going to school and if so he can potential have stolen public funds form the tax payers of NY,” Santos questioned. “I will let the Office of Congressional Ethics determine the validity of this grave allegation raised in his local media.”

In response, LaLota spokesman Will Kiley told The Hill that “George is just mad the congressman has three actual degrees, while he lied about one.”

Santos also demanded the Ethics Committee look into Menendez’s relationship with his father, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who has been charged with multiple federal crimes in a bribery scheme.

While he didn’t accuse the younger Menendez of misconduct, he said the committee should investigate “what did he know and when did he know it.” The senator is accused of selling political favors to interests in Egypt.

“I think it’s a fair point to make sure we weed out the doubt surrounding Rep Menendez and his business associations with his father,” Santos said.

Menendez spokesman Michael Zhadanovsky brushed off the complaint in a statement to The Hill on Saturday.

“George Santos is neither Rep. Menendez’s colleague nor a constituent so we will not expend any energy responding to his Botox-fueled fits of rage,” he said.

The suite of accusations follows attacks against Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) on the House floor Thursday, when Santos called him a “woman-beater” after Miller dubbed Santos a “crook.”

Miller has been accused of domestic violence by former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who was previously in a relationship with the congressman.

The Ethics Committee investigation into Santos is what ultimately led to his expulsion from office. The committee’s damning report changed the minds of members who previously voted against expelling him by levying extensive allegations of misconduct.

Before his expulsion vote, Santos warned that voting him out would set a bad precedent for expelling other members for misconduct allegations.

The Hill has reached out to the offices of Malliotakis and Lawler for comment.