Aide fired by George Santos says he bought his job after sending cash to high deputy

NEW YORK — A person who briefly labored as an aide to U.S. Rep. George Santos says he bought his job after sending a collection of funds to one of many Republican’s high deputies.

Derek Myers, 31, instructed workers of the House’s ethics subcommittee throughout an interview Wednesday that whereas he was making an attempt to get a job in Santos’ congressional workplace in late January, he despatched at the least seven $150 funds to Santos’ director of operations, Vish Burra.

Myers shared particulars concerning the funds, together with receipts and textual content messages, with The Associated Press. His account of how Burra helped him get employed hasn’t beforehand been reported and raises questions on potential moral improprieties round Santos.

Myers stated he started sending the cash unsolicited as a result of he believed Burra, a right-wing political operative, wasn’t getting paid by the House on the time and couldn’t afford meals. But he stated he additionally hoped the funds would possibly assist him safe a job.

“Burra was a powerful person,” Myers instructed the AP. “I wanted him to advocate on my behalf.”

Burra, a dependable presence beside Santos who helped escort his boss away from journalists after his arraignment in federal court docket final month, declined to remark.

House investigators questioned Myers concerning the funds, documented in receipts and textual content messages, as a part of a probe into office sexual harassment allegations Myers made after being dismissed from Santos’ workers in February.

Myers, a former journalist, acquired a job provide to be a legislative assistant in late January, however lasted lower than per week within the place. At the time, Santos instructed Myers he was involved by the findings of a background verify, which confirmed Myers had been charged with wiretapping in Ohio after publishing a recording of a trial.

In a February letter despatched to the House Committee on Ethics, Myers stated he was ousted after he spurned Santos’ sexual advances, accusing the congressman of operating his hand alongside his interior leg and touching his groin whereas they had been alone within the workplace.

Santos has denied the allegation, describing it as “comical.”

The House Ethics Committee is investigating a number of allegations of improper habits by Santos, who has admitted to fabricating a lot of his biography and is presently going through federal fees that embrace fraud and cash laundering.

Last month, Republicans within the House sidestepped a vote to expel Santos, referring the matter to the ethics panel. The committee has not divulged whom it’s interviewing or when a choice may be reached.

On Wednesday, members of the committee spent two hours questioning Myers about his sexual harassment allegations, his relationship with Burra, and whether or not he’d witnessed any unlawful habits throughout his brief stint within the workplace.

He described discovering Burra on-line, then pushing for a job at Santos’s workplace out of an earnest want to assist the scandal-scarred consultant.

Myers additionally offered documentation, together with emails and textual content messages with staffers and receipts displaying his Venmo funds to Burra.

In his interview, Myers stated Burra didn’t ask him for cash, however as soon as requested that he “send more pizza,” which he took to be a reference to the pizza emoji they’d used beforehand in Venmo topic traces.

The House investigators requested Myers a couple of textual content trade he had with Burra on Jan. 29, days after he’d been provided the job. In that trade, Myers had requested Burra, “Did you get payroll yet.”

“No. You didn’t have to do that man,” Burra replied, including later, “I’m gonna pay you back for sure.”

Myers acknowledged throughout his interview with the House investigators that he had secretly recorded at the least one dialog with Santos and later shared it with a journalist. He additionally stated he had gone to the FBI whereas nonetheless working for Santos, with the intention of probably working as a confidential informant for legislation enforcement.