Group of New York Republicans move to expel George Santos from House after latest charges – A faction of New York state Republicans serving in the U.S. House of Representatives has announced their intention to put forward a proposal for the expulsion of their fellow Republican, George Santos, who is currently under indictment. This decision was disclosed by two members on Wednesday. This move follows the recent filing of 23 new criminal charges by federal prosecutors against the first-term U.S. representative.
These charges accuse Santos of inflating his campaign’s fundraising figures and making unauthorized charges to campaign contributors’ credit cards. Santos, who represents a district encompassing parts of New York City and its eastern suburbs, has faced a series of controversies since his election in November 2022.
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These began with allegations that he had falsified much of his professional history and eventually culminated in criminal charges. Despite these issues, the House’s Republican leadership, holding a slim 221-212 majority, has not taken any action thus far. Santos has entered a plea of not guilty to the initial indictment in May and has expressed his intent to do the same for the new charges.
The accusations against him include false statements, aggravated identity theft, and credit card fraud, alleging that he used the credit card information of individuals who had already contributed to his campaign to make additional contributions. “He has no business being in the halls of the House of Representatives. He’s an immoral person, he’s an untrustworthy person, he’s scammed hundreds of thousands of voters,” Representative Nick LaLota, a Republican who also represents a New York suburb, told reporters on Wednesday.
To successfully pass a motion for expulsion, it necessitates the backing of two-thirds of House members, which translates to 290 votes. Democrats have consistently advocated for Santos’s expulsion, and more than a dozen Republicans have joined in making the same demand. “If they want to be judge, jury and arbitrator of the whole goddamn thing, let them do it,” Santos said on Wednesday.
LaLota said the group did not yet have support from the required two-thirds of the House, but predicted the resolution would “catch fire.” The timing of when the House floor would schedule a vote on the motion remains uncertain, primarily due to ongoing Republican efforts to elect a new speaker following the unprecedented removal of Kevin McCarthy, as eight Republicans joined all Democrats in this historic event last week.
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On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York unveiled a revised indictment containing ten additional charges. According to the prosecutors, Santos and his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, are accused of submitting inaccurate financial reports to the Federal Election Commission. These reports artificially inflated the campaign’s fundraising figures with the aim of qualifying for specific advantages, benefits, and backing from Republican Party leaders.
The indictment also introduces new accusations that Santos illicitly utilized personal credit card information from individuals to make unauthorized charges in support of his political campaign. The alleged victims, as per the charges, were prior campaign donors who had provided their personal information when contributing funds to Santos.