A first-term Long Island Republican congressman gave a job in his office to a woman he was having an affair with, reported The New York Times — possibly in violation of House ethics rules.
"Shortly after taking the oath of office, the first-term congressman hired his longtime fiancée’s daughter to work as a special assistant in his district office, eventually bumping her salary to about $3,800 a month, payroll records show," reported Nicholas Fandos.
Then, Rep. Anthony D'Esposito added Devin Faas, a woman he was reportedly sleeping with, the Times reported, citing four sources who knew about the relationship. She earned $2,000 each month for a part-time gig in the same district office, according to the report.
Experts told The Times that both appointments could run afoul of House ethics rules that ban employing either a child, spouse or a person with whom the representative is romantically involved. Additionally, the appointments could run afoul of ethics rules against "no-show or low-show jobs," which were put in place to prevent candidates from handing out campaign money to friends for nothing.
ALSO READ: The simple yet powerful way Tim Walz just exposed Donald Trump
A spokesperson for D'Esposito refused to comment directly on the issue, saying, “We do not comment on personnel matters. Congressman D’Esposito remains focused on fighting for real issues that impact Long Islanders, like securing our borders and ending the affordability crisis.”
Faas also refused to speak to reporters.
D'Esposito, a former NYPD detective, was elected to the congressional district in 2022, at the same time former fellow Long Island and Queens Rep. George Santos was elected.
D'Esposito's district has leaned Democratic for most of the past two decades, and is rated as a "toss-up" by several political analysts.
Santos was ultimately expelled from Congress following a blistering ethics report that detailed fraud and misuse of office, following extensive reporting on how he had fabricated his entire campaign biography and was federally indicted for shady campaign finance practices.