George Santos will not go away quietly.
In what may have been his last news conference in Congress, the lying Long Island Republican on Thursday urged his fellow lawmakers to reject the precedent that would be set by “bullying” him out of office with an expulsion vote. before presenting its own resolution to remove the representative. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for falsely activating a fire alarm two months ago.
Hours later, Santos took the floor of the House to affirm that he was the victim of a “smear campaign to destroy me.”
“It’s just an unfortunate circumstance that I have to sit here and watch… Congress wastes the American people’s time over and over again on something that is the power of the people,” Santos, 35, told reporters during a cold morning outside. The capitol.
“They’re trying to join me with the group of three Confederates and two people convicted in a court of law,” he said of the effort to unseat him, referring to the House’s five previous expulsions.
Rep. George Santos (R-NY), in potentially his last congressional news conference, urged House lawmakers to consider the precedent set by “bullying” him out of office with an expulsion vote. AFP via Getty Images The Long Island congressman said he was going to introduce his own resolution to impeach Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for falsely activating a fire alarm two months ago. ZUMAPRESS.com
“So if they expel me tomorrow, I will be number six in history: the first Republican and the only one without conviction or without having committed treason,” Santos added.
When asked why he has not resigned, Santos responded: “Because if I leave, they win. If I leave, stalkers will occur; “This is harassment.”
“Now, if it had been anyone else, if it had been one of the members of the media, if it had been a Republican member of Congress, we all know that person would have been charged with obstructing a congressional hearing,” continuous. reference to Bowman.
When asked why he has not resigned, Santos responded: “Because if I leave, they win. If I leave, stalkers will occur; “This is harassment.” AFP via Getty Images
“Just like the 140 or so people who are in jail right now because of January 6, but Jamaal Bowman gets a pass.”
Santos said his proposed expulsion of Bowman was aimed at “keeping the playing field level.” Currently, the House has its full complement of 435 lawmakers: 222 Republicans and 213 Democrats. The expulsion of Santos would reduce the Republican Party’s slim lead by one.
In a statement, Bowman responded: “No one in Congress, or anywhere in the United States, takes soon-to-be former Congressman George Santos seriously. “This is just another pointless stunt in their long history of scams, mischief and outright fraud.”
The lying Long Island congressman, who fabricated details about his personal and professional history while running for Congress in 2022, said the decision to expel him will “haunt” the House. fake images
Santos, who fabricated details about his personal and professional history while running for Congress in 2022, said the decision to expel him “will haunt” future House lawmakers, leaving “mere accusations” [be] it is enough for the members to be removed from office when they are duly elected by their people in their respective states and districts.”
Santos also dismissed a House Ethics Committee investigation into him as a “defamatory report” after he revealed new campaign finance violations that were not already contained in his 23-count indictment from the Eastern District of New York.
“No decent cop would take this to a prosecutor or the district attorney and say, ‘Here’s our report. Go ahead and charge at him,’” she huffed.
“This is what the Ethics Committee came out with,” he added. “God bless them and what they think they are doing and what their job is. You know, I think they do a good job when it’s relevant, but it’s not like that.”
In the afternoon, Santos reiterated his complaints about the expulsion process and asked: “On what basis does this body consider that the precedent must be changed for me?”
Regarding the Ethics Committee’s conclusions, Santos asked whether the panel intended “to achieve a predetermined result sought by some members of our conference.” Or some members of this organization? This is what it looks like to me.”
Several big-name Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Clay Higgins of Louisiana, sat with the Long Island lawmaker inside the chamber in a show of solidarity, and Higgins even offered Santos a fist bump.
Gaetz, who led the charge to unseat former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, told colleagues he was not speaking in defense of Santos but to defend precedent, noting that the freshman lawmaker has not been convicted of any charges. crime.
“Whatever Mr. Santos did with Botox or Onlyfans worries me less than the accusation against the senator [Bob] Menendez [of New Jersey]holding gold bars with Arabic inscriptions from Egypt while still receiving classified information today,” Gaetz said.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) reiterated Gaetz’s concern about setting an inappropriate precedent, although the Texan initially mistakenly referred to Santos as Democratic megadonor George Soros.
“In this country, I thought everyone was presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” Nehls said.
Santos announced following his ethics investigation that he would not seek re-election in 2024, but has refused to resign from office. fake images
In response, Santos’ partner, Long Island Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), argued that setting a new precedent for ethical expulsions would elevate Congress and prevent bad actors from intervening in the government.
“If we have the opportunity in this great institution to set a new precedent that means we hold members of the House of Representatives to a higher standard, ladies and gentlemen, I’m pretty sure the American people will applaud that,” he said. .
Another New York Republican, Marc Molinaro, criticized Santos for being “divorced from reality.”
However, Santos expects him to be dismissed on Friday. fake images
In response to attacks on the ethics committee, Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) defended the panel’s work.
“As the Ethics Committee report sets out in detail, Mr. Santos has repeatedly, egregiously, and brazenly violated the public trust,” Wild said. “Mr. Santos is not a victim. He is a perpetrator of massive fraud against his constituents and the American people.”
In a statement before the report’s release, the House panel announced that it had “contacted approximately 40 witnesses, reviewed more than 170,000 pages of documents and authorized 37 subpoenas” for the investigation.
The extensive investigation revealed that Santos had spent campaign funds on lavish trips, spa treatments, Botox and Onlyfans subscriptions, in addition to falsifying loans and omitting items in federal campaign documents.
Santos mentioned during the press conference that his fellow New York Republican representative, Nick LaLota, “said he has 150 [Republican] votes.” AP
Santos told reporters that he had cooperated with the investigation and provided most of the requested documents through his legal counsel.
The same committee voted last week against opening an investigation into Bowman for falsely activating a fire alarm in a House office building as the House prepared to vote on a bill to prevent a partial shutdown of the House. government on September 30.
The Squad member pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor last month and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine for the incident. As part of an agreement with D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, Bowman’s charges will be dismissed after three months.
Two-thirds of House members must vote to impeach Santos, meaning only about 80 Republicans would need to join all Democrats to seal the ouster. Rod Lamkey – CNP
Santos announced following his ethics investigation that he would not seek re-election in 2024, but has refused to resign from office.
However, he expects to be impeached on Friday, and mentioned during the press conference that fellow New York Republican Rep. Nick LaLota “said he has 150 [Republican] votes.”
Two-thirds of House members must vote to impeach Santos, meaning about 80 Republicans would have to join all Democrats to seal the ouster.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn