Ex-George Santos Aide Accuses Congressman of Sexual Harassment Amid Bizarre Exit from Staff
The New York Times is reporting a prospective congressional aide has accused Representative George Santos of ethics violations and sexual harassment, according to a letter the man sent to the House Committee on Ethics and posted to Twitter on Friday.
"The man, Derek Myers, briefly worked in Mr. Santos's office before his job offer was rescinded earlier this week, according to the letter," writes the Times.
In the letter, Myers said that he was alone with Santos in his office on January 25 when the congressman asked him if he had a Grindr profile. "Then, he said, Mr. Santos invited him to karaoke and touched his groin, assuring him that his husband was out of town," adds the Times.
"Mr. Myers's account could not be corroborated, but a spokeswoman for Representative Susan Wild, ranking member of the House Ethics Committee, acknowledged that his letter had been received by her office," writes the Times.
Myers accusations comes after he was told he would not be hired as an assistant to Santos. "Mr. Santos told the news start-up Semafor on Thursday that his office had been in the process of hiring Mr. Myers, but had decided against it because of concerns over the wiretapping charges. Mr. Lovett confirmed the same to Talking Points Memo.
"Mr. Myers was charged last year with wiretapping in Ohio, after a small newspaper he ran published audio of courtroom testimony that someone else recorded and sent to him. Journalism organizations rallied around him, calling for the charges to be dropped in the name of press freedom," adds the Times.
The alleged harassment took place five days before Myers recorded his conversation with Santos and Lovett. That conversation, which was published by Talking Points Memo,
Myers claimed that the alleged harassment occurred five days before he secretly recorded Mr. Santos. In that conversation, audio of which was published by Talking Points Memo. In it, Myers was called out by Santos for not being truthful about his past. "Myers was stunned by the hypocrisy. Santos fabricated much of his biography en route to getting elected last year and is currently facing multiple investigations related to his finances," writes TPM.
"I'm thinking to myself, I'm a threat and concern to this institution — George Santos, you're George Santos!" Myers told TPM.
At the time of the conversation, Myers was not working officially for Santos. He had come onto the congressman's staff as a volunteer with the expectation that he would be hired. But, DPM, reports, "Myers suspected it would be a discussion about his past and potentially an end to his time on the team."
In the conversation, Myers asked directly if Santos was firing him. Instead Santos asked for the context of the legal action, which vered to a discussion of Botox when Myers explained he had been covering the local trial before going to Columbia to get injections.
"It's like $100, but it's $400 here," Myers explained. To which Santos replied, "I spend a lot more than that on Botox, but I trust the people."
But as Myers continued his explanation, he was interrupted by Santos. "It's not concerning to us, it's concerning to this institution," the congressman told him.
That Myers was recording the conversation was not disclosed by him to either Santos or Lovett, but Santos suggested that consequences if he were. ""From my understanding, recording in this building is a federal crime, and you get seven years," Santos told Myers on the tape. "Have fun at your peril!"
During the discussion, Santos reflected on his own conflicted relationship with the truth, addressing his relationship with his chief of staff.
"I've made bad judgment calls, and I'm reaping the consequences of those bad judgment calls," Santos said. "I've obviously fucked up and lied to him, like I lied to everyone else," Santos later added, apparently referring to Lovett, the chief of staff. "And he still forgave me and gave me a second shot, unlike some other people."
"I trust his judgment more than my own judgment," Santos added.
Myers was not fired during the meeting, but the next day "Lovett finally informed him that the job was off the table in a phone call on Wednesday," reports TPM.