Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who earlier escaped an effort by his House colleagues to expel him, is now facing a new challenge from a prominent Republican. The effort came after an ethics report accused the freshman representative of a number of potential crimes.
House Ethics Committee Chairman Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) filed the resolution, saying that the “evidence uncovered in the Ethics Committee’s Investigative Subcommittee investigation is more than sufficient to warrant punishment, and the most appropriate punishment is expulsion.”
According to the ethics report, Santos allegedly used campaign funds to pay for botox treatments. He also allegedly used the money for OnlyFans.
The House Ethics Committee, comprised of five Republicans and five Democrats, voted unanimously to send the report to the Department of Justice for possible prosecution.
The report accused Santos or his campaign of knowingly submitting false election reports.
He also allegedly engaged in fraud with a private company.
The New York representative was also accused of lying to the House about personal assets.
The representative was also accused of “obfuscation and delay” in the investigation.
Since the release of the ethics report, Santos announced that he would not seek another term.
On social media, Santos called the report a “disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk.”
He further said that he would “remain steadfast in fighting for my rights and for defending my name in the face of adversity.”
If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the “Ethics committee”, they would have not released this biased report. The Committee went to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming (My legal bills suggest otherwise).
It is a disgusting…
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) November 16, 2023
“I’ve come to expect vitriol like this from political opposition but not from the hallowed halls of public service,” he wrote.
The new resolution to remove Santos from the House came just weeks after a high-profile vote on the same topic.
In the vote, 213 representatives voted against the measure to expel him, compared to 179 in favor. The resolution needed two-thirds of the members of the chamber in order to succeed.
Despite Santos’ political affiliation, 31 Democrats voted against the measure.
In addition, at least one of the representatives who voted against expelling Santos in the first vote indicated that he would support a new effort.
