POLITICS
House Ethics Chair Files Resolution To Expel Rep. George Santos From Congress
puckdotnews/Instagram
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) on Friday filed a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from Congress.
The move comes after the committee this week released a scathing report detailing substantial evidence Santos violated federal criminal laws, including using campaign funds on OnlyFans, Botox and luxury goods.
Santos is already facing a variety of federal charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements to the House of Representatives. He has pleaded not guilty.
“Given the intense public scrutiny surrounding Representative Santos and the ongoing activity at the DOJ, including indictments, the Ethics Committee decided to finish its work without going through a lengthier process that provides for the Committee to make a recommendation of punishment to the House, Guest said in a statement Friday.
The evidence uncovered in the Ethics Committees Investigative Subcommittee investigation is more than sufficient to warrant punishment and the most appropriate punishment, is expulsion. So, separate from the Committee process and my role as Chairman, I have filed an expulsion resolution, Guest said.
A vote to expel Santos can’t be taken until the House returns from Thanksgiving break on Nov. 28.
In its report, the Investigative Subcommittee concluded that Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.
Representative Santos was frequently in debt, had an abysmal credit score, and relied on an ever-growing wallet of high-interest credit cards to fund his luxury spending habits. He occasionally deposited large amounts of cash that he has never accounted for, moved money between his various bank accounts in a highly suspicious manner, and made over $240,000 cash withdrawals for unknown purposes,” the report stated.
Some of those expenditures included nearly $4,000 on Botox treatments; shopping trips to Sephora, Hermes, Ferragamo; trips to the Hamptons, Atlantic City, and a honeymoon in Las Vegas; rent; and subscriptions on OnlyFans, a social media platform used mainly for pornography. Some $200,000 was simply transferred to his personal bank account.
The Ethics Committee also said Santos refused to cooperate with their investigation, and the answers he did provide included falsehoods.
In a lengthy response posted on X, formerly Twitter, Santos blasted the biased report as a disgusting politicized smear, but said he would not seek re-election.
Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of Justice should all be ashamed of themselves, Santos wrote.
I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed, Santos wrote. I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time.
TMX contributed to this article.
