By Moira Warburton

WASHINGTON The U.S. House Ethics Committee has found "additional uncharged and unlawful conduct" by Republican Representative George Santos and has referred the matter to the Justice Department, the panel said in a statement on Thursday.

Santos, a first-term lawmaker from the New York area has already pleaded not guilty to a 23-count federal indictment accusing him of an array of corruption, including 10 felony counts that federal prosecutors added in October.

"Representative Santos’ conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House" of Representatives, the bipartisan committee said in a statement.

Santos' office did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Ethics Committee has been investigating him for months, having contacted "approximately 40 witnesses, reviewed more than 170,000 pages of documents, and authorized 37 subpoenas," according to a statement released on Oct. 31.

Santos survived a vote to expel him from the House brought by fellow House Republicans from New York state in early November.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; writing by Paul Grant; editing by Jonathan Oatis)