The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Donna Robert
Rep. George Santos said Congress is doomed if it votes Friday to boot him from his House seat.
“If it’s their choice to change precedent and loop me in with three Confederate turncoats who were expelled for treason and two convicted members who were convicted in a court of law … I’ll be the first person to get expelled from Congress without a conviction or without committing treason,” he said on “Fox & Friends” Friday. “And it sets a dangerous new precedent for the future to come. It’s the demise of this body eventually.”
Friday is the House’s third attempt since May to try to expel the New York Republican. This comes soon after the House Ethics Committee released its report that found the lawmaker used campaign funds for personal reasons, such as purchasing luxury items or on adult websites, with his campaign filing false reports.
“Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” investigators wrote. They noted that he repeatedly “evaded” requests for information.
He is already being charged with 13 counts of misleading donors, receiving unemployment checks he did not deserve and lying to Congress. An additional 10 counts allege he inflated his campaign finance reports and made unauthorized charges to donor credit cards.
He has pleaded not guilty to all of them.
This year he admitted to making up parts of his background but has since argued that the voters don’t care about those parts of his life.
Mr. Santos told host Brian Kilmeade the Republicans have the votes to expel him but he’s not sure what his fate will be.
“Look, I don’t know. I’ve accepted the faith. Look, I believe that if it’s God’s will to keep me here, I will stay. And if it is his will for me to leave, I will leave and I will do so graciously,” the congressman said.
According to reports Friday, Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, will vote against the expulsion. Majority Leader Steve Scalise, also of Louisiana, has said he opposes expelling Mr. Santos before he is convicted at a trial.
The New Yorker’s trial is set for next September.
