House Ethics chairman moves to expel Rep. George Santos from Congress

The chairman of the House Ethics Committee on Friday filed a motion to expel Rep. George Santos from Congress, one day after the committee released a report accusing the New York Republican of breaking the law.

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Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., filed the motion, saying in a statement, “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.”

The resolution can be considered after the House returns from its Thanksgiving holiday break on Nov. 28, according to The Washington Post.

Santos announced Thursday that he will not seek a second term in Congress after the House Ethics Committee released a scathing report accusing him of criminal conduct, including stealing from his campaign and lying to donors and federal election officials.

The committee said it referred “substantial evidence of potential violations of federal criminal law to the Department of Justice for such further action as it deems appropriate.”

In a statement on social media, Santos called the committee’s report “biased,” characterizing it as “a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk.”

According to the report, Santos illegally used campaign funds to pay his bills, buy Botox treatments and make purchases at OnlyFans, Sephora and Hermes. He also used thousands of dollars to pay for a holiday in the Hamptons, a honeymoon in Las Vegas and multiple spa days.

The committee did not make a recommendation Thursday on whether to punish Santos for his alleged conduct, a decision Guest attributed to the lengthy process required to make a recommendation and “the intense public scrutiny surrounding Representative Santos and the ongoing activity at the DOJ, including indictments.”

Santos has resisted calls for his resignation since reports surfaced that he had lied about his background during his run for Congress. A subsequent federal investigation prompted several charges against Santos on allegations including fraud and money laundering.

The freshman lawmaker has denied the allegations and framed them as politically motivated.

Two of Santos’ former aides have pleaded guilty to federal charges connected with him. On Tuesday, one of his former fundraisers pleaded guilty to wire fraud after he was accused of impersonating an aide to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a plot to garner donations for Santos’ congressional campaign.

Last month, Santos’ former campaign treasurer pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the federal government. Authorities said Nancy Marks submitted false reports to the Federal Election Commission to get support from Republican Party officials.

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