A former staffer filed a police report with both Capitol Police and the Office of Congressional Ethics against Rep. George Santos (R-NY), claiming the congressman sexually harassed him and promised employment while he was an unpaid volunteer.
Derek Myers, 30, sent in the report on Feb. 3, stating that he was offered a job to be “legislative correspondence” and “staff assistant” in Santos’s Washington, D.C. office. During Myers’s brief time in the office, Santos allegedly groped him and invited Myers over to his house and out to bars.
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The alleged incidents occurred between January and Feb. 1, as ethics and financial probes continue into Santos’ alleged fabricated records. Myers wrote that on Jan. 25, his second day of work, he was alone with Santos when the congressman began to ask if he had a Grindr profile, a LGBT social networking app “more commonly used for sexual intercourse.”
“The Congressman shared with me that he himself had a profile,” Myers wrote.
Staffer for George Santos files an ethic complain against him alleging Santos sexually harassed and inappropriately touched him on his 2nd day of work last week. pic.twitter.com/PMgLXioRnB
— Ron Filipkowski ?? (@RonFilipkowski) February 5, 2023
Myers wrote that he proceeded to move forward with discussing mail before Santos allegedly called Myers “buddy,” made him sit next to him on a small sofa, and placed his hand on his left leg near his knee.
Santos then allegedly asked Myers if he wanted to go to karaoke that night, but Myers wrote that he declined the invitation, saying he was not a fan of clubs and bars, and “that I was not a good singer.”
“The Congressman proceeded to take his hand and move it down my leg into my inner-thigh and proceeded to touch my groin,” Myers wrote. “He proceeded to look at me and say, ‘My husband is out of town tonight if you want to come over’ and went on to tell me where the Congressman lived.”
Myers wrote that he pushed Santos’s hand away, continuing to discuss the topic of constituent correspondence before leaving the personal office.
“My brush with assault was non-violent and my thoughts are with those who have to live with nightmares from their horrific experiences,” Myers said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “No one, no matter the extent should be violated.”
On Jan. 30, Myers was asked about his background as a journalist after being called into the congressman’s office. Last year, Myers was charged in Ohio with wiretapping after he published audio of courtroom testimony obtained by a source in the Scioto Valley Guardian, where he was editor-in-chief.
“I was questioned about matters that had already been disclosed in my conversations with hiring managers from the Congressman’s office prior to my job offer,” Myers wrote. “On Wednesday, February 1, I was informed that my job offer was being rescinded.”
Santos said in an interview with Semafor that Myers had secretly recorded a conversation he had with the representative, citing that as the reason for rescinding the job offer. Santos said Myers “violated the trust we had in him” by recording the conversations and has “100%” denied the sexual harassment allegations.
Myers, however, wrote that Santos violated ethics in the workplace “by having staff offload work onto the volunteer with the promise of employment.”
Joe Murray, counsel for Santos, declined to comment on the allegations or complaint.
Myers said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that these allegations have usually resulted in “slaps on the wrist.” So, the opportunity is here for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to decide, Myers said.
“All the previous allegations and ethical complaints filed against him by outside agencies and other members of Congress mostly pertain to his conduct prior to taking the oath and arguably can’t be used to expel,” Myers said. “The claims I have filed have occurred while he has held office.”
The allegations are the latest to be added to Santos’s docket, after it was discovered that he fabricated his employment and education history and family heritage. There are several ongoing state and federal investigations looking into his campaign finance records and potential ethics violations.
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Several staffers working for Santos have quit, including his longtime campaign treasurer and campaign press secretary, Gabby Lipsky, who was expected to join Santos’s team in D.C., per POLITICO.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Office of Congressional Ethics for comment.
