Congress is going to take another swing at booting Rep. George Santos (R-NY) out of Congress. The House Ethics Committee is seeking to expel the lawmaker following the release of a bombshell report outlining various allegations of misconduct.
The move comes after substantial evidence was uncovered during the investigation and after a failed effort to remove Santos from Congress.
The chairman of the House Ethics Committee will move to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from Congress after the release of a damning report into the embattled Long Island Republican.
"Chairman Guest feels that the evidence uncovered in the Committee’s investigation is more than sufficient to warrant punishment, and that the most appropriate punishment is expulsion," Republican Mississippi Rep. Michael Guest's personal office told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
"So, separate from the Committee process and his role as Chairman, he plans to file an expulsion resolution during tomorrow’s 9:00 am pro forma session."
The ethics committee released a damning report that accused Santos of having "used campaign funds for personal purposes" and "engaged in fraudulent conduct," among other allegations.
The report details numerous allegations against Santos, who is already facing several federal charges related to use of campaign funds and defrauding donors. The document states that Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit” and that he “blatantly stole from his campaign.
Santos is believed to have spent campaign funds on Botox, spas, plastic surgery, designer clothing, and other luxuries. He also spent over $2,000 in campaign funds on trips to Atlantic City and over $3,000 on Airbnb while vacationing in the Hamptons.
The lawmaker is also being accused of withholding or falsifying “information on statutorily required disclosures of his campaign and personal finances to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the House.”
According to the report, Santos also reported fabricated loans to his political committees to persuade donors and party committees to continue donating to his campaign. He later diverted these funds for personal use.
Even further, the Ethics Committee alleges that Santos showed a consistent pattern of obstructive behavior and lack of cooperation with the investigation. He tried to avoid accountability by providing limited documents, often delayed, and failed to voluntarily testify before the committee while also throwing off the investigation through false statements and half-truths.
The totality of the report reveals a pattern of fraudulent behavior and efforts to use people’s donations to live in luxury. It is in line with the dishonesty he displayed during the campaign when he told a series of lies to appeal to voters in his district.
Naturally, Santos has denied the allegations, claiming that the House Ethics Committee’s report was a “politicized smear” and that its actions constitute a “grave miscarriage of Justice.” One of the reasons why the first effort to remove him failed is because Democrats voted against it, saying they wanted to wait until the committee completed and released their report.
However, now that the report has been published, it does not seem there is anything that could save Santos from being expelled – unless enough House Republicans vote to keep him in office.
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