George Santos hits back at his Republican colleagues, calling out Ohio Rep. Max Miller a 'wife beater' ahead of a vote that will likely spell the unceremonious end for Congress' most famous liar.
“You, sir, are a crook,” Miller, R-Ohio, said on the House floor.
“My colleague wants to come here and call me a thug,” Santos said. “The same colleague accused of being a wife beater. Are we really going to ignore the facts that we all have a past?'
He was referring to claims made by Miller's ex-girlfriend Stephanie Grisham. The couple dated while Miller was an aide to former President Donald Trump and Grisham was former First Lady Melania's spokeswoman. She also worked briefly as Trump's press secretary.
Sources close to Grisham have claimed that Miller punched her after she accused him of cheating on her.
The pair reportedly dated for 18 months and even got a French bulldog named Gus before things turned sour.
Miller was dating Grisham in April 2020 when she confronted him at his Washington DC apartment and accused him of cheating on her, sources told Politico.
Three unnamed sources cited by Politico claim he pushed her against a wall, punched her and threw a dog toy tennis ball at her.
The report also claims he tried to grab her in the elevator when she tried to leave.
He has vehemently denied it, Grisham made no comment and it is not believed a report was made to police.
“You, sir, are a crook,” Miller, R-Ohio, said on the House floor
“My colleague wants to come here and call me a thug,” Santos said. “The same colleague accused of being a wife beater. Are we really going to ignore the facts that we all have a past?'
Grisham claims in her new book I'll Take Your Questions Now that Trump asked her if her boyfriend was “good in bed.” She didn't know who he was referring to, but Miller was her significant other at the time
But according to Politico, it is one of a series of incidents that raise questions about Miller's past.
Miller pushed her. He hit her. She fled. The temperature dropped below 40 degrees that evening and Grisham left without a coat, just with her purse,” the report said.
He denied it, but the unnamed sources insisted it was true.
Grisham has also accused Miller of keeping the French bulldog he gave her as a gift as his own after the breakup.
'It happened. It was violent and difficult for her,” said one of the sources – described as someone “very close” to Grisham but not in the White House.
Meanwhile, Santos remained defiant to the end, refusing to resign before his own expulsion vote. “If I leave, they win,” he reasoned.
The 35-year-old freshman member called his expulsion and the report “theatre for the American people at the expense of the American people because no real work is being done.”
Santos survived a vote to expel him earlier this month as 31 Democrats and most Republicans voted to keep him. Many of them said they would prefer to wait for an Ethics Commission report detailing his misdeeds.
That report has now been made public, showing that Santos used campaign money and donations to finance a lavish lifestyle, engaged in fraud, filed false election reports and “intentionally” violated ethics.
Santos, R.N.Y.
This is the fifth time that Congress has taken action to expel its members. It is the first time a member has been expelled without conviction or support for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
In addition, Santos has already pleaded not guilty in federal court to 23 charges, including identity theft, charging his donors' credit cards without their consent and filing false campaign reports.
He is not expected to appear in court until September next year.
The Ethics Commission said two charges of $1,500 and one $1,400 on the congressman's debit card, which were not submitted to the FEC, were listed as “Botox.”
The report notes another $20,000 from the campaign went to Santos' company Devolder, whose account had a negative balance at the time. From there, the money was used to make $6,000 worth of purchases in Ferragamo, withdraw $800 in cash at a casino, withdraw another $1,000 in cash near Santos' apartment and pay his rent.
The report found that Santos also received refunds to his personal account for money he never loaned to the campaign.
He increased the six personal loans he had made for the campaign – which actually amounted to $3,500, but he said would amount to as much as $80,000.
Announcing that he would not run for re-election but would remain in Congress until the end of his term, Santos wrote on X: “My family deserves better than to be under constant fire from the press.”