A congressional aide candidate has accused Republican Representative George Santos of New York of ethics violations and sexual harassment, according to a letter the man sent to the House Ethics Committee and posted on Twitter on Friday.
The whistleblower, Derek Myers, worked briefly in Santos’ office before his job offer was terminated earlier this week, according to the letter.
Myers said in the letter that he was alone with Santos in his office on Jan. 25 when the congressman asked if he had a profile on Grindr, a popular gay dating app. Then, he said, Santos invited him to karaoke and touched his crotch, assuring him that her husband was out of town.
Myers’ account could not be corroborated, but a spokeswoman for Democratic Representative Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, a senior member of the House Ethics Committee, acknowledged that the letter had been received by her office.
Myers said in an interview that he also filed a complaint with Capitol Police, speaking with an officer over the phone. On Twitter, he said he was posting his complaint for the sake of transparency.
“These are serious offences, and the evidence and facts will speak for themselves if the committee raises the matter,” he wrote.
The day before making his allegation public, Myers drew attention after releasing recordings he had secretly made of Santos with his chief of staff, Charley Lovett.
Myers was charged last year with wiretapping in Ohio after a small newspaper he ran published audio of court testimony that someone else recorded and sent to him. News organizations supported Myers, calling for the charges to be dropped in the name of press freedom.
Santos told news startup Semafor on Thursday that his office was in the process of hiring Myers but decided not to hire him due to concerns over the wiretapping allegations. Lovett confirmed this to Talking Points Memo, an independent news organization.
Santos is the target of numerous investigations into his business and campaign finances. Santos’ director of communications did not respond to requests for a response, referring the matter to his personal lawyer. He declined to comment on Myers’ allegations.
Myers claimed that the alleged harassment took place five days before he secretly recorded Santos. In that conversation, audio of which was published by Talking Points Memo, Myers declared his allegiance to Santos, telling him: “We’re all George, that’s how we got here. We’re just masters of the game.”
At another point, Myers says on the recording, “I will never lie to you. I have no reason to. But I will lie for you.”
“You shouldn’t,” replies Santos.
In his letter to the Ethics Committee, Myers said he was told he would be working in Santos’ office as a volunteer before his paperwork was processed.
He said in the letter that he now believed such an arrangement violated the House’s ethics rules and asked the committee to investigate Santos for the use of volunteer labor as well as sexual harassment.
It is not clear how the Ethics Committee will proceed. Tom Rust, the committee’s chief counsel and staff director, declined to comment, and Wild’s spokesman said the congresswoman “would not comment on potential or pending matters before the committee.”
Capitol Police did not respond to messages requesting confirmation that Myers had filed a report.
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