The House has initiated a new attempt to remove George Santos following a damaging investigation into his ethics.
The House is making another attempt this week to remove Republican Representative George Santos from office, following two lawmakers’ decision on Tuesday to push for a vote on his expulsion in the near future.
Robert Garcia, a Democratic representative from California, was the initial person to propose a “privileged” resolution to remove the New York Republican following…
A critical report from the House Ethics Committee.
Earlier this month, it was stated that there is significant proof that Santos continuously violated the law. Presenting it as confidential means that the House must make a decision on it within 48 hours.
The investigation revealed that Santos misused funds from his congressional campaign for personal expenses, falsified loan reports, misled donors, and participated in deceitful business practices. The investigators also noted that Santos had exaggerated his education, career, and family background, and his campaign team urged him to seek help for his habitual dishonesty.
He anticipates being removed from Congress.
“He mentioned during a live broadcast on X that he has repeatedly gone through the calculations and they do not appear favorable,” he stated.
According to the Constitution, a member can only be removed by a two-thirds majority vote from House lawmakers.
In a speech on Tuesday evening, Santos expressed his concern that the presumption of innocence until proven guilty may no longer apply, and instead individuals are presumed guilty until proven innocent. He pointed out that he has not been given proper due process, unlike the few legislators who have been removed. Santos urged his fellow House members to contemplate and recognize the implications of this for future cases.
Santos has already survived two attempts
An attempt to oust him this year was unsuccessful, as it fell significantly below the required two-thirds majority. This move was initiated by a coalition of New York Republicans, following additional allegations against Santos in October.
Initial attempt to remove him.
In the month of May, a proposal put forth by Democrats was obstructed by Republicans and was subsequently referred to the Ethics Committee for additional scrutiny.
The publication of the Ethics Committee’s findings spurred a third effort, as legislators who had previously opposed removing Santos from office now declared their backing for it.
the US imposed a $1.3 billion fine on
Santos has been charged with 23 federal offenses and has entered a plea of not guilty. In May, the United States issued a penalty of $1.3 billion against Santos.a 13-count indictment
Santos is accused of being involved in a deceitful plan to make political donations, illegally obtaining unemployment benefits, and submitting dishonest financial statements to the House. In October, a revised indictment was issued.10 more charges
Accusations have been made that he unlawfully utilized contributors’ credit card information and fabricated his financial disclosures for his campaign.
According to Republican Representative Kevin Hern from Oklahoma, House Speaker Mike Johnson from Louisiana has discussed with Santos about his choices and advised him that stepping down would spare the conference’s members from making difficult decisions.
When questioned about Santos’ resignation, Johnson chose not to provide a comment.
Santos stated that he had a conversation with Johnson on Tuesday and also during Thanksgiving, and confirmed that the speaker did not request for him to step down.
Santos stated that he specifically mentioned he was not requesting my resignation during the call.
The new and inexperienced politician has refused to comply with his peers’ repeated demands for him to resign. Santos maintains that stepping down would be an admission of guilt to the accusations outlined in the Ethics Committee’s findings.
“I hereby submit my resignation and acknowledge the contents of the report, most of which is the wildest nonsense I have ever come across,” he stated on Friday.
On Tuesday, during a press conference, he stated that his coworkers are pressuring him to step down, as they fear the consequences of voting against their own interests in the future.
In his address, he restated his stance of not resigning.
“I want to clarify and officially state,” he said, “that I have no intentions of resigning.”
“Reporting was contributed by Alejandro Alvarez and Nikole Killion.”
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Source: cbsnews.com