House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest filed a resolution to expel scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos after the committee issued a damning ethics report about the New York Republican, who is currently under federal indictment.
Summary
House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest filed a resolution to expel scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos after the committee issued a damning ethics report about the New York Republican, who is currently under federal indictment.
- Santos is accused of using his campaign as a personal piggy bank to fund his lavish lifestyle. He allegedly spent campaign funds on: a Las Vegas honeymoon; a $3,300 Airbnb in the Hamptons; casinos in Atlantic City; spa days; luxury goods including Ferragamo, Hermes, and Sephora; rent; cash withdrawals; and purchases on the pornography site OnlyFans.
- Santos faces 23 federal charges and survived an expulsion vote earlier in November, but the new ethics report has led many members of both parties to change their stance and call for his removal from Congress.
- Nearly 60 additional members plan to vote to expel Santos, making his expulsion increasingly likely. A two-thirds majority of the House is required to expel him.
- If Santos is expelled, he would only be the sixth person expelled from the House of Representatives in US history. Three members – Reps. John Reid, John Clark, and Henry Burnett – were expelled for encouraging secession during the Civil War.
- Only two members have been expelled since the Civil War. Rep. Michael “Ozzie” Myers (D-PA) was ousted in 1980 for his participation in the Abscam kickback scandal. Myers was later convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. Myers would later serve two additional years in prison after his 2020 conviction in a ballot-stuffing scheme.
- The most recent member to be kicked out was Rep. Jim Traficant (D-OH), who was expelled in 2002 over a corruption scandal similar to Santos. Traficant misused campaign funds and was convicted on bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion charges and expelled from Congress shortly after. He served seven years in prison and later died in a freak tractor accident.
- The New York Times outlined Santos’ dilemma: “whether to stay and fight a potentially humiliating ouster, or pre-emptively resign in hopes of currying favor with prosecutors. Leaving Congress would mean giving up his $174,000 annual salary as legal bills pile up. His financial situation will not be eased by a congressional pension, either; members must serve five years to receive one.”
- NBC News explored the ways that Santos allegedly misspent his campaign donors’ money. The report found Santos to be deeply in debt with an “abysmal credit score” and would deposit large amounts of cash into his account that has never been accounted for.
- CNN pointed out Santos’ legal troubles may only get worse. The Ethics Commitee found additional “uncharged and unlawful conduct” by Santos in addition to his 23 federal charges, and plans to refer the additional offenses to the Justice Department.
- Fox News Digital published a statement from Chairman Guest on his decision to call for Santos’ expulsion: “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.”
- The New York Post noted “Two Santos associates — his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, and ex-fundraiser Samuel Miele — have already pleaded guilty to falsifying campaign finance records and defrauding donors.” Santos himself will go on trial on Sept. 9, 2024.
- National Review’s Jim Geraghty had a simple message for Santos: “Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.” Geraghty argued some headlines claiming Santos was being let off the hook because the Ethics Committee isn’t imposing an additional punishment are misleading – rather, he thinks the Ethics Committee is saying: “Formal punishment by us would be moot, since this guy’s going to jail soon.”
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© Dominic Moore, 2023
