From Reuters:
“Indicted Republican lawmaker
George Santos expelled from US House”
Indicted Republican George
Santos' brief career in the U.S. House of Representatives came to an end on
Friday, when fellow lawmakers voted to expel him over criminal corruption
charges and accusations of misspending campaign money. The House voted 311-114
to immediately remove the controversial freshman lawmaker, above the two-thirds
majority required to oust one of its own. Embattled by revelations of lies
about his past and a federal criminal indictment, Santos, 35, became only the
sixth member to be expelled from the House. He was the first to be kicked out
without having fought for the Confederacy or being convicted of a crime.
Following the vote, there was
scattered applause in the House chamber. As he walked out of the Capitol,
surrounded by journalists, Santos said, "You know what? As unofficially
already no longer a member of Congress, I no longer have to answer a single
question from you guys." "To hell with this place," he said,
according to multiple media reports. The door on Santos' House office was
closed, but the plaque bearing his name remained on Friday, shortly after the
vote. A small bouquet of flowers lay on the floor outside.
New York state Governor Kathy
Hochul, a Democrat, now has 10 days to call a special election for the seat.
The election must take place 70 to 80 days from that proclamation. Shortly
before the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson told his fellow Republicans that he
would oppose the expulsion, but that did not sway enough in the party to go
along. Some lawmakers had expressed concerns that booting Santos from office
could set a precedent for abusing lawmakers' power of expulsion. His expulsion
also reduces Republicans' already slim majority to a 221-213 majority. His
district, which includes parts of New York City and Long Island, is seen as
competitive.
FABRICATED BIOGRAPHY Santos
has been mired in controversy since his November 2022 election. He has admitted
fabricating much of his biography, and federal prosecutors accuse him of
laundering campaign funds and defrauding donors. Santos has pleaded not guilty
to those charges. He survived a previous expulsion attempt in early
November, when 182 of his fellow Republicans and 31 Democrats voted against his
removal on the grounds that his criminal case should be resolved first. But
a subsequent, scathing House Ethics Committee report on Santos' behavior eroded
what support he had. Only 112 of 222 House Republicans voted to keep him in
office this time around. Two Democrats voted against expulsion. "George
Santos' lies were designed to defraud and deceive the voters in order for him
to be elected, unlike other public corruption cases," Representative Dan
Goldman, a New York Democrat who is a former federal prosecutor, told reporters
shortly before the vote.
A bipartisan congressional
investigation last month found that Santos charged almost $4,000 for spa
treatments, including Botox, to his congressional campaign account. He also
spent more than $4,000 of campaign money at the luxury retail store Hermes and
made "smaller purchases" from OnlyFans, an online platform known for
sexual content, according to the Ethics Committee. That prompted several
Republicans who backed him in November's vote to say they'd support kicking him
out. During debate on Thursday, Santos acknowledged he likely would be
expelled. He previously said he would not run for reelection next year.
The last member to be expelled
was Democrat James Traficant of Ohio in 2002, following his criminal corruption
conviction. Santos' troubles began shortly after his November 2022 election,
when media outlets reported he had not actually attended New York University or
worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as he had claimed during his campaign. He
also falsely claimed Jewish heritage and told voters his grandparents had fled
the Nazis during World War Two. Reports of the falsehoods made Santos a pariah
in the House and the butt of late-night TV comedians even before federal
prosecutors charged him with an array of fraud and campaign-finance crimes. In
a 23-count indictment, they accuse him of inflating his fundraising totals in
order to draw more support from the Republican Party, laundering funds to pay
for personal expenses, and charging donors' credits cards without permission. Two
former campaign aides have pleaded guilty to related fraud charges. Santos
denies wrongdoing, and his trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 9, 2024,
shortly before the November elections that will determine control of the White
House and both chambers of Congress. Before Santos' win in 2022, the district
was represented by Democrat Tom Suozzi, who unsuccessfully ran for governor.
Suozzi and 19 other candidates, including eight Republicans, have filed to run
for Santos' seat.
^ This is great news. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.