George Santos' comms chief quits after release of damning ethics report as GOP Rep faces 23 federal criminal counts
WASHINGTON, DC: Gabrielle Lipsky, Director of Communications for Rep George Santos (R-NY), has resigned from the congressman’s office.
This comes on the heels of a damning report released by the House Ethics Committee, indicating "substantial evidence" that Santos violated federal criminal laws.
Who is Gabrielle Lipsky?
Gabrielle Lipsky, who began serving in Santos's congressional office in January 2023 after working on his congressional campaign from April 2022 through November 2022, submitted her resignation following the committee's investigation.
According to her LinkedIn, Lipsky has previously worked as a Fall Associate for The Madison Group and as an Account Executive at AMW Public Relations. She lists her top skill as "public policy."
The report, which has put Santos under intense political pressure on Capitol Hill, highlights various instances where the New York Republican allegedly "stole from his campaign."
The House Ethics Committee report found that Santos “blatantly stole from his campaign,” spending official funds on a trip to Atlantic City, NJ, a trip to Las Vegas, and on Botox and other cosmetic procedures.
The panel said it was not able to verify if those expenses had a campaign purpose, but they appeared not to.
Misuse of campaign funds
Santos reportedly also utilized money from an outside strategy firm established to support his campaign at the luxury brand Hermes, to make payments for his personal credit cards and cover personal debts, and to make small purchases at OnlyFans, which is largely used for adult content, according to the report.
Besides detailing Santos's "misuse" of official funds, the committee raised questions about the appropriateness of campaign resources for personal use.
As the Ethics Committee's findings reverberate through Capitol Hill, Rep Michael Guest (R-Miss), the chair of the Ethics panel, has introduced a resolution to expel Santos.
Guest emphasized the severity of the situation, stating, “The evidence uncovered in the Ethics Committee’s Investigative Subcommittee investigation is more than sufficient to warrant punishment and the most appropriate punishment is expulsion.”
Guest could call the legislation to the floor as a privileged resolution when the House returns to Washington following the Thanksgiving holiday, which would force leadership to act on the measure within two legislative days.
House members' plans to expel George Santos
Rep Robert Garcia (D-Calif), who forced the first vote on expelling Santos, has expressed his intention to submit a privileged resolution to oust Santos when the House returns on November 28. Rep Dan Goldman (D-NY), who filed an Ethics complaint against Santos, echoed this sentiment.
This is in addition to GOP Rep Guest's statement on Friday, November 17, signaling a bipartisan push for accountability.
Santos, in response to the Ethics Committee's findings, slammed the report as "biased" and "a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk." Despite the controversy, he announced that he would no longer seek reelection but would continue to serve until unable to do so.
“I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed. I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time,” Santos wrote.
If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the “Ethics committee”, they would have not released this biased report. The Committee went to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming (My legal bills suggest otherwise).
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) November 16, 2023
It is a disgusting…
In addition to the ethics scandal, Santos is facing 23 federal criminal counts, including allegations of misleading donors, fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits, lying on House financial disclosures, inflating campaign finance reports, and charging donors’ credit cards without authorization.
Despite pleading not guilty to all counts, Santos's trial is set for September 2024, The Hill reported.