US politics
Fraudster must go: House of Representatives throws Santos out
Republican Rep. George Santos speaks to reporters outside the Capitol. photo
© J. Scott Applewhite/AP/dpa
New York MP George Santos is thrown out of Parliament. It is rare for a member of the US House of Representatives to be expelled. The allegations against the 35-year-old and his bold lies are tough.
Scandal-plagued US Representative George Santos is expelled House of Representatives. In a historic vote on Friday, the required majority of the House chamber voted to expel the Republican. It is the first time in recent history that a representative who has not previously been convicted of a crime has been expelled from the House of Representatives. A member has only been expelled from the chamber six times.
“To hell with this place,” the 35-year-old said to reporters in front of the Capitol after the decision. He had been asked whether he would remain in the chamber as a non-member with special rights. This is possible because he has not yet been convicted by any court. “Why would I want to stay here?” he replied. However, the House of Representatives has set a “dangerous precedent” with its actions.
Ethics Committee saw “dignity of the office” violated
The vote follows an investigation by the House Ethics Committee. In mid-November he made serious allegations against Santos and submitted an investigation report. It says that, among other things, the MP stole campaign funds and defrauded his donors. According to the report, Santos is said to have spent campaign funds on cosmetics and luxury purchases – the committee presented bills for Botox, for example.
Santos also tried to “blame others for much of the misconduct.” The MP’s lack of honesty is worrying. With his behavior, the politician violated “the dignity of the office” and “severely brought the House of Representatives into disrepute.”
After the report was published, Santos announced that he would not run for re-election next year. He immediately rejected the allegations. The report was “a vile politicized slander,” Santos wrote. “Anyone involved in this serious miscarriage of justice should be ashamed.”
Trial of Santos in New York
There are other serious allegations against Santos. In a New York trial he was accused of, among other things, fraud and theft. According to the indictment, he is said to have, among other things, made false statements to the FEC electoral commission. Prosecutors also accuse him of falsifying documents, conspiracy against the United States, fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering and theft of public funds. Santos pleaded not guilty after the indictment was read. The trial is scheduled to begin in September 2024.
Santos has been a member of a New York district in the US House of Representatives for over a year and presents himself as a supporter of former US President Donald Trump. His rise to the federal political stage was overshadowed from the start by allegations of fraud and deception.
CV largely invented
Research has shown that Santos invented a large part of his resume with which he presented himself to voters in 2022. In it, he posed as a successful businessman on Wall Street, as an animal rights activist or as the son of Brazilian immigrants who fled the Holocaust. The “New York Times” took a close look at his resume and came to the conclusion: university degree, career at major banks, family background – all made up.
Santos admitted to “glossing over” his resume, but insisted he was not a liar or a fraud.
Santos’ story is so important to the United States because the details are so crazy. So he made up all sorts of bizarre details that have been refuted – such as the fact that he was a volleyball star during his time at university – which he never attended. He claims to have lost four employees in the attack on the Pulse nightclub in the US state of Florida with 49 deaths. He said about his mother that she experienced the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the World Trade Center.
Friday’s vote in the House of Representatives was the third time Santos’ expulsion has been voted on. Twice before, MPs voted against expulsion. The ethics committee’s investigation report may have persuaded some of his supporters to no longer support him. The vehemence with which he repeatedly presented himself as an innocent man may also have played a role.