(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) One of the Republican lawmakers behind the controversial ouster of disgraced former Rep. George Santos—an action that weakened the Republican majority—is now facing his own ethics issues.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., admitted hiring his lover and his fiancée’s daughter to work in the same district office, raising questions about potential ethics violations related to nepotism and House rules.
D’Esposito, a New York delegation member who rose to power during the 2022 midterms, was among Santos’s most vocal critics, becoming the first lawmaker to demand his resignation even before a trial.
The New York Times reported Monday that D’Esposito hired his fiancée’s daughter as a special assistant with a salary of $3,800 per month. In April of the same year, he then hired Devin Faas, the woman with whom he allegedly had an affair, for a part-time position at $2,000 a month.
Payments to both individuals ceased in July 2023, shortly after D’Esposito’s fiancée discovered the alleged affair, the liberal outlet reported.
Rep D'Esposito, endangered NY GOP, refuses to respond to questions about NYT report that he hired his mistress and fiancés daughter pic.twitter.com/RyQUTypkRW
— haleytalbotcnn (@haleytalbotcnn) September 23, 2024
D’Esposito called The Times’s article a “hit piece,” insisting to CNN’s Manu Raju that he “did not violate any ethics, and that’s it.”
When CNN inquired about “Devin Faas,” the lawmaker retorted, “The point is that there’s been no evidence that ethics have been violated.” When asked if the two individuals worked for him, he confirmed, “Yes, they worked in the office.”
“Neither relationship violated any ethics,” D’Esposito maintained. He did not clarify whether he had retained any attorneys to investigate the Times’s allegations.
The allegations against D’Esposito from The Times reveal actions that contradict his previous criticisms of Santos. “Santos does not have the ability to serve here in the House of Representatives and should resign,” D’Esposito said in January 2023.
The House ousted Santos after the House Ethics Committee determined he had violated campaign-related rules. He later entered a plea deal with federal investigators over these matters.
Santos took to X on Wednesday to demand D’Esposito resign from office, citing D’Esposito’s remarks against himself in 2023.
“You have disgraced the halls of Congress greed with your messy personal relationships and you have disgraced the constituents of NY4 with your toxic, corruption and misappropriation of federal tax payer funds when you hired your mistress for a no show job!” Santos commented.
Hey @ANTHONYDESPO, resign!
You have disgraced the halls of Congress greed with your messy personal relationships and you have disgraced the constituents of NY4 with your toxic, corruption and misappropriation of federal tax payer funds when you hired your mistress for a no show… pic.twitter.com/omvuq2fWpw
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) September 26, 2024
Flashback to the Santos Expulsion Resolution:@RepMattGaetz: “He [D’Esposito] said we’re making a “whole new precedent…He defends that by saying that “the new rules are better. That it’s a higher standard.”@RepDesposito: “I hope that tomorrow, we set that precedent.
It’s set pic.twitter.com/wwkR6Rs8VN
— VISH BURRA 🏴☠️ (@VishBurra) September 26, 2024
Santos’s ouster further weakened the already-slim Republican majority in the House. In contrast, the House has yet to deliver a similar fate to Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat currently facing bribery charges and allegations of acting as a foreign agent.
Sen. Bob Menendez, another Democrat indicted by the DOJ for bribery and foreign agent violations, was not ousted by Senate Democrats.
He resigned from office in August 2024, nearly a year after being indicted—allowing him to continue receiving a taxpayer-funded salary for 11 months.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., reacted to the allegations during a press conference.
REPORTER: The NYT reported one of your members, D'Esposito, was putting a woman with whom he was having an affair on the congressional payroll. Was that wrong of him to do that?
MIKE JOHNSON: I don't know the details. I've been very busy. He says it's a partisan hit piece. That… pic.twitter.com/PKtFpgjyTU
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 24, 2024
