Santos: House seat is safe for now, but he still faces criminal trial

By James On Nov 2, 2023

Rep. George Santos easily survived a Nov. 1 vote to expel him from the House of Representatives, as most Republicans and 31 Democrats opted to suspend the sentence while both his criminal trial and a House Ethics Committee investigation continued .

The effort to kick Santos out of the House of Representatives was led by his fellow New York Republicans, who are eager to distance themselves from a colleague infamous for fabricating his life story and accused of stealing from donors, lying to the Congress and receiving unemployment benefits. he didn’t deserve it.

But the resolution failed to achieve the required two-thirds majority. The supporters could not even win a simple majority; the final vote was 179 in favor of expulsion and 213 against.

To succeed, numerous Republican lawmakers would have had to break ranks with newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson, who has said Santos should get his day in court. Mr. Johnson, R-La., also recently told Fox News that if Congress is going to expel members because they are accused of a crime or accused of wrongdoing, “that’s a problem.”

Some Democrats also expressed concern about pre-empting the Ethics Commission, which had issued a rare memo the day before, citing the depth of the investigation that involved contacting some 40 witnesses and the issuance of 37 subpoenas. It also said the next steps of the committee’s investigation would be announced on November 17.

“I feel like due process is still alive. I feel like there are plenty of colleagues here on both sides of the aisle who understand that,” Mr. Santos said after the vote.

Congress has rarely resorted to the most extreme punishments at its disposal. The House of Representatives has expelled only five members in its history: three during the Civil War and two after their conviction on public corruption charges. It would be groundbreaking if the House of Representatives were to expel Mr. Santos before his case is resolved in federal court.

Some Republicans, however, said they had seen enough from Santos. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said he believes in due process but also thinks Mr. Santos has misrepresented himself to New York voters and that they would never have elected him if they had seen “the real George Santos had known’.

“We don’t need the Santos charade during the 2024 election cycle. I think Congress needs to act now,” Mr. Womack said.

The debate in the House of Representatives on whether to expel Mr. Santos was conducted exclusively by members of New York’s congressional delegation. On one side, Republican Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, Nick LaLota and Mike Lawler laid out their case for Mr. Santos’ expulsion.

“Mr. Santos is a stain on this institution and unfit to serve his constituents in the House of Representatives,” said Mr. D’Esposito.

On the other side was Mr. Santos, who called on lawmakers to delay deportation. He said passing judgment without due process would create distrust.

“I am fighting tooth and nail to clear my name before the whole world,” Mr. Santos said. “It hasn’t been easy, but I’m fighting by God’s grace.”

The only Democratic lawmaker to speak during the debate was Rep. Dan Goldman. He said Santos should have been deported in May when Democrats filed an expulsion resolution, and the only reason New York Republicans were leading the effort now was because Santos “hangs like an albatross around the neck of every New York Republican.” . York.”

“They care no more about integrity, morality or the reputation of this institution than they did in May, when they voted to protect Mr. Santos,” Mr. Goldman said. “They’re just worried about their re-election in a year, knowing their support for George Santos is going to be a problem.”

New York Republicans laid out in their expulsion resolution the range of charges Santos faces in federal court. The charges indicate that Santos committed serious financial fraud during his 2022 campaign for the House of Representatives. The resolution states that he misled voters regarding his biography and is “unfit to serve his constituents as a representative of the United States.”

“Mr. Santos has said that deporting him before he is formally charged and found guilty would set a new precedent in this body, one that could negatively impact generations,” Mr. LaLota said. “With all due respect , Mr. Chairman, I disagree. The consequences and precedents of not expelling him because of his lies and fraud have the potential to do much more damage to this institution.”

In May, Republicans under then-Chairman Kevin McCarthy of California sidestepped the Democratic-led effort to deport Santos. While 204 Democrats voted against a motion to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee, Republicans in the House of Representatives stood united behind the efforts that delayed action against Santos’ conduct.

Mr. Johnson, who took over the gavel last week, made it clear that he would prefer not to impeach Mr. Santos at this time, despite the many charges against the congressman, as Mr. Johnson struggles to control a very slim majority to get.

‘He has only been charged. He has not been found guilty of anything. We have due process in America,” said Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which opposed the expulsion resolution.

Democrats were also more divided than during the previous expulsion attempt against Santos.

“Neither the Ethics Commission nor the courts have finished ruling on this,” tweeted Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who voted against expulsion. “In this country, one is presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty. No exceptions.”