Full speed on Santos probe

After two months in office, the famous fabulist Rep. George Santos is finally confirmed to be facing a probe by the House Ethics Committee regarding his fake background, his unusual campaign filings, and even a sudden and uncorroborated claim of sexual harassment. This adds to a cluster of complaints and inquiries previously announced that so far include the involvement of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, the Federal Election Commission, and the Nassau County district attorney’s office.

According to a statement Thursday from the committee’s bipartisan leadership, the panel voted unanimously to create an investigative subcommittee on Santos. They’ll decide whether he “engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign,” failed to make proper disclosures, and violated conflict of interest laws while associated with a financial firm.

The difficult question is how speedily the House’s investigation will be done. This is a uniquely urgent situation. Santos was exposed in December as a near-impostor — and malfeasance continues to surface. That’s why a fresh Siena poll shows a striking 78% of voters in his Third Congressional District think he should resign — including 71% of Republicans on whose line he ran twice and won once. Every day he stays, his constituents get no real representation.

The clash of personal interests is frustrating. The three Republicans who constitute the rest of Long Island’s congressional delegation, as well as House Democrats, are appropriately agitating to prod Santos out of the job. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has incentive to be rid of Santos but also to keep him for his votes on the floor.

Outrageously, Santos has strategic cause to cling to the seat. He seems to know that if and when the time comes he can use his departure as a bargaining chip to blunt criminal penalties. First he’d have to be accused, however. And despite a lot of thick and acrid smoke, the scandalous blaze continues.

His campaign filings alone — just the tip of the iceberg — are rife with blatant signs of abuse: Phantom donations that couldn’t be traced to real names and addresses, 37 disbursements just one cent below the $200 threshold for required documentation, a massive “loan” from the candidate himself who two years earlier looked broke — those are just a few of the highlights.

The sclerotic and bipartisan Federal Election Commission performs inadequately when it comes to enforcement against either side. Just a superficial tracing of how Santos’ money moved around through multiple committees will suggest violations or even crimes, yet there is no assurance that officials have gotten a leg up beyond demanding proper filings and asking questions.

In this case, investigative entities shouldn't step on each other, but they should dig as swiftly as possible. An entire district of more than 746,000 Nassau and Queens residents has good reason to be impatient.