Rep. George Santos mentioned Congress is doomed if it votes Friday besides him from his House seat.
“If it’s their choice to change precedent and loop me in with three Confederate turncoats who were expelled for treason and two convicted members who were convicted in a court of law … I’ll be the first person to get expelled from Congress without a conviction or without committing treason,” he mentioned on “Fox & Friends” Friday. “And it sets a dangerous new precedent for the future to come. It’s the demise of this body eventually.”
Friday is the House’s third try since May to attempt to expel the New York Republican. This comes quickly after the House Ethics Committee launched its report that discovered the lawmaker used marketing campaign funds for private causes, resembling buying luxurious objects or on grownup web sites, together with his marketing campaign submitting false reviews.
“Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” investigators wrote. They famous that he repeatedly “evaded” requests for info.
He is already being charged with 13 counts of deceptive donors, receiving unemployment checks he didn’t deserve and mendacity to Congress. An extra 10 counts allege he inflated his marketing campaign finance reviews and made unauthorized costs to donor bank cards.
He has pleaded not responsible to all of them.
This yr he admitted to creating up elements of his background however has since argued that the voters don’t care about these elements of his life.
Mr. Santos informed host Brian Kilmeade the Republicans have the votes to expel him however he’s undecided what his destiny shall be.
“Look, I don’t know. I’ve accepted the faith. Look, I believe that if it’s God’s will to keep me here, I will stay. And if it is his will for me to leave, I will leave and I will do so graciously,” the congressman mentioned.
According to reviews Friday, Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, will vote towards the expulsion. Majority Leader Steve Scalise, additionally of Louisiana, has mentioned he opposes expelling Mr. Santos earlier than he’s convicted at a trial.
The New Yorker’s trial is about for subsequent September.
