Congressman George Santos has been accused of sexually harassing an aide and asking him if he was on Grindr.
Santos, 34, allegedly asked Derek Myers if he was on the dating app and explained that he had a profile.
The pair had been going through letters from constituents on January 25 when the allegations took place, according to the letter sent to the House Committee on Ethics on Friday.
Myers claims that Santos asked him to sit closer after they spoke about Grindr, and allegedly began touching his leg before inviting him to karaoke.
The aide said he declined the invitation, but Santos then moved his hand to his ‘groin area’ and assured him that his husband was out of town and invited him over.
Myers was in the process of being hired by Santos, but was fired a day before he made the allegations because he is facing criminal wiretapping charges in Ohio – something which he denies.
The journalist was charged last year after a small newspaper he ran published audio of courtroom testimony that someone else recorded and sent to him.
He was widely defended by journalism organizations, calling for the charges to be dropped in the name of press freedom.
Myers also released a tape to Talking Points Memo in which he was having a conversation with Santos, but failed to tell him or his chief of staff Charlie Lovett that he was recording them.
Santos said ‘I’ve obvious f***ed up and lied to him, like I lied to everyone else’ while referring to Lovett, though it is unclear what he is admitting lying about.
Posting on twitter, Myers said that he had also filed a report with Capitol Police, adding: ‘These matters will not be litigated on social media or through news media.
‘They are serious offenses and the evidence and facts will speak for themselves if the committee takes up the matter. This tweet is being made public in light of transparency.’
A spokeswoman for Representative Susan Wild, a member of the House Ethics Committee, acknowledged that his letter had been received by her office.
It is the latest in a long line of allegations that Santos is facing, and is the subject of numerous probes into his business and campaign finances.
He gave an interview earlier this week claiming that he has ‘learned his lesson’ and that everything will be ‘above board’ from now on.
The Republican congressman from New York, who stepped down from his committee assignments on Tuesday, argued he has already apologized for his lying, which he claims was only about his educational background.
Santos was exposed by a report in the New York Times which claimed that he falsified his resume and biography claims.
On one occasion, it was claimed that he stole money that he intended to use to pay for lifesaving surgery for a disabled veteran’s service dog, which died from not getting treatment.
He also said he graduated with a degree in economics and finance from Baruch College in 2010, but a Baruch representative told the New York Times there was no record of Santos being in the class of 2010.
Pictures also emerged of him working as a drag queen in Brazil, something that he initially denied and then said it was ‘just for fun’ at a festival despite the images spanning three years.
A watchdog group claimed he’d made multiple campaign finance violations and filed a complaint with the FEC.
They say that he was loaned more than $700,000 despite having only $55,000 in earned income for his campaign
Santos announced in a GOP conference meeting on Thursday morning that he would be stepping down from his assignments on the Science and Small Business committees, reportedly telling his colleagues that he felt he was a ‘distraction.’
Polling from Newsday and Siena College showed that 78 percent of Santos’ New York constituents now believe he should resign.
He is being investigated by the district attorney’s office in Nassau County, N.Y., which is where his congressional district issue. And authorities in Brazil are also seeking to revive a fraud case against him dating from 2008.
