By Troy Torres
(Tumon, Guam) Investigators for the U.S. House's ethics committee have cleared Congressman Michael San Nicolas of allegations that he had an affair with a staffer - allegations made by a former campaign manager Mr. San Nicolas decided not to carry on his Congressional staff from his legislative office in 2019.
Kandit has received a copy of the report by the U.S. House of Representatives Office of Congressional Ethics from a confidential source.
The inquiry began following allegations by Mr. San Nicolas's former campaign manager, John Paul Manuel, that his former boss had an affair with a staffer.
In the documents is the transcript of Mr. Manuel's interview with two investigators. After a series of questions regarding the affair Mr. Manuel alleged happened, Mr. Manuel admitted that he did not know or have any proof that Congressman San Nicolas had an affair with a staffer.
The focus of the report actually is on allegations by Mr. Manuel that Mr. San Nicolas improperly accepted campaign funds. In the accompanying exhibits, documents show that it was Mr. Manuel who had received a campaign donation of $10,000. The documents show that upon the congressman's new campaign staff's discovery of the donation, Mr. San Nicolas's new campaign manager reached out to the contributor to rectify the matter.
The investigators have forwarded the report to the House Ethics Committee for further inquiry. Mr. San Nicolas, in an interview with Kandit News says he is open to the inquiry and confident he will be cleared of the allegations against him.
"We are very glad that the OCE did not entertain baseless allegations of sexual relations with Congressional Staff," opened Congressman San Nicolas. "They came to that conclusion on their own as indicated in their non-citation of such activities, and that is a powerful indicator that other allegations by the same accuser can be disproved with evidence," Congressman San Nicolas added.
The OCE recommended the Ethics Committee review allegations that Congressman San Nicolas may have received contributions in violation of federal law, and may have converted campaign funds for personal use.
"Now that we have a clear understanding of how prior campaign official errors are being portrayed we are ready to provide the Ethics Committee with available evidence to refute the remaining allegations, as we have remedied all prior issues with the Federal Election Commission," added Congressman San Nicolas.
"My family and I are very grateful for the people of Guam standing with us and believing in us, and we are confident that the conclusion of this process will finally put everything to rest," Congressman San Nicolas closed.
It is important to note that Mr. Manuel is personally, politically, and closely associated to governor's policy director Carlo Branch. Mr. Branch has, for years, opposed Mr. San Nicolas and worked to oppose him in the Guam Legislature, the Democratic Party of Guam, his campaign for Congress, and now as congressman. He has sought to undermine the congressman on a number of occasions and is involved in this recent effort to discredit Mr. San Nicolas.
"In the meantime we have serious matters to deal with on Guam and we will remain focused on getting our people the help and relief they need during these stressful times." - Congressman Michael San Nicolas.
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