Before impeachment, New York Republicans are seeking to expel George Santos from Congress
CENTRAL ISLIP, New York (WABC) — Rep. George Santos, who will be indicted Friday on additional federal charges filed earlier this month, now faces a new push by New York Republicans to remove him from Congress.
Prosecutors accuse Santos of stealing people’s identities, making purchases using his donors’ credit cards and lying to the House of Representatives.
He is expected to plead not guilty, as he did to the previous charges. The hearing is scheduled for Friday at 10:30 a.m.
Ahead of the indictment, New York Rep. Anthony D’Esposito introduced a resolution Thursday night to expel Santos from Congress.
Other New York Republicans, including Reps. Molinaro, LaLota and Lawler, sat behind D’Esposito in the chamber as he spoke. Majority Whip Tom Emmer was also there.
D’Esposito said Santos was not “fit to serve his constituents as a representative of the United States.”
He introduced the resolution as privileged, meaning the House must consider it within two legislative days.
The House of Representatives could vote on the resolution as early as next week.
Santos responded to the resolution on social media, writing that he was “entitled to due process and not a predetermined outcome as some seek.” He added that he would not resign.
Santos was initially arrested in May on a 13-count indictment accusing him of using campaign funds for designer clothing and other personal expenses and improperly obtaining unemployment benefits for Americans who lost jobs due to the pandemic.
The new indictment accuses Santos of billing his campaign for more than $44,000 over a period of months using cards from donors without their knowledge. In one case, he charged $12,000 to a donor’s credit card and transferred the “most” of that money to his personal bank account, prosecutors said.
Santos is also accused of falsely telling the Federal Election Commission that he had loaned his campaign $500,000, when in fact he had given nothing and had less than $8,000 in the bank. The fake loan was an attempt to convince Republican Party officials that he was a serious candidate worthy of their financial support, the indictment says.
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Information from ABC News and The Associated Press
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