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Friday, November 17, 2023

Fora George Santos!

George Santos without the fabulist.

George Santos Out!

A small Long Island newspaper expose doomed the freshman lawmaker. When it reached the New York Times and Washington Post, he became a laughing stock. His lies about his religion, his upbringing and his social life have became fodder. He was a huge headache for Republicans and was considered the most vulnerable Republican in 2024 election.

So instead of running for another term, Rep. George Santos (R-NY) announced he will no longer seek reelection. Santos is the first openly gay Republican to be elected to the House of Representatives. He is also one of the most corrupt members so far this term.

He joins Eric Massa, Allen West, Katie Hill and Trey Radel as disgraced lawmakers.

A House Ethics report released shows how much of manipulated liar Santos was.

Santos has 67 federal charges on him and he is still under investigation for crimes before he became a lawmaker. Brazil still has a warrant for him after the check fraud scandal.

He also is under federal watch after his name showed up in a credit card skimming criminal investigation in Orlando.

Drag out.

The House Ethics Committee released its Investigative Subcommittee's report, accusing Santos of fraud similar to those he had already been criminally charged with, such as diverting campaign funds for personal use, as well as money raised for RedStone Strategies that donors were told would be used on campaigns. The subcommittee listed some of those personal purposes, including over $4,000 to Hermés, plastic surgery and Botox, payments of personal credit card bills and other debts, travel to Atlantic City and Las Vegas that had no campaign purpose, and a small amount on OnlyFans subscriptions. In a news release accompanying the report, the committee said:

The ISC’s investigation revealed a complex web of unlawful activity involving Representative Santos's campaign, personal, and business finances. Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit. He blatantly stole from his campaign. He deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit. He reported fictitious loans to his political committees to induce donors and party committees to make further contributions to his campaign—and then diverted more campaign money to himself as purported "repayments" of those fictitious loans. He used his connections to high value donors and other political campaigns to obtain additional funds for himself through fraudulent or otherwise questionable business dealings. And he sustained all of this through a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience. The ISC determined there was substantial evidence that Representative Santos violated federal criminal laws, some of which are the subject of the pending charges filed against him in court.

Insufferable Lauren Boebert and insufferable Matt Gaetz with insufferable Santos.

Santos subsequently announced he would not run for reelection, although he would remain in Congress for the rest of his term. He called the report "a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk."

The House Ethics Committee report Thursday said it has amassed “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking by Santos that has been sent to the Justice Department, concluding flatly that he “cannot be trusted” after a monthslong investigation into his conduct.

Santos said he would not be seeking reelection to a second term. He gave no indication, however, that he would step aside before his term ends, vowing to pursue his “conservative values in my remaining time in Congress.”

But a renewed effort to expel him from the House was quickly launched. The House could vote on his expulsion as soon as it returns from the Thanksgiving holiday later this month.

The Justice Department declined to comment about the ethics report, as did the Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office, which is handling the case against Santos.

Earlier this week, a former fundraiser for Santos pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge, admitting he impersonated a high-ranking congressional aide while raising campaign cash for the embattled New York Republican.

Santos easily survived a vote earlier this month to expel him from the House as most Republicans and 31 Democrats opted to withhold punishment while both his criminal trial and the Ethics Committee investigation continued. But the committee’s report could prove to be a game-changer.

Insufferable Marjorie  Taylor Greene with insufferable Santos.

Rep. Susan Wild, for example, the ranking Democrat on the Ethics Committee, said she was no longer obligated to maintain neutrality because the committee’s work is now complete.

“I intend to vote yes on any privileged expulsion resolution that is brought forward,” Wild said.

Rep. Jeff Jackson of North Carolina, one of the Democratic lawmakers who voted against expelling Santos earlier this month, said Santos has now received due process.

“This report is fully damning,” he tweeted on X. “I will vote to expel him.”

And Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., who also voted no on the latest expulsion vote, said it’s not enough for Santos to say he won’t seek reelection.

“He should immediately resign or be expelled so his constituents can be represented by someone who isn’t a fraud,” Malliotakis said.

Expulsion, the sternest form of punishment, has occurred just five times in the history of the House — three times during the Civil War for disloyalty to the Union and twice after convictions on federal charges, most recently in 2002. Two-thirds of the House would have to vote to expel Santos for the resolution to pass.

If Santos were to be expelled, it would narrow the GOP’s already thin majority in the House, which now stands at 221-213. But many of his Republican colleagues from New York support booting Santos from the House as they seek to distance themselves from his actions.

While Santos now says he won’t seek reelection, his campaign was already woefully short on resources and candidates from both parties were scrambling at the chance to challenge him. Campaign records show he had about $28,000 on hand at the end of the fundraising quarter ending Sept. 30, an incredibly small sum for an incumbent.

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