George’s air was hot
Ignoring the Doomsday of Trumpism: The Fabulist of the New York Rep. Jeremiah Santos
Other politicians exhibit disgusting aspects of Trumpism. It is a part of reality TV and get-rich-quick schemes. As Mark Chiusano reports in his excellently timed new book about Santos, “The Fabulist,” if the now ex-congressman showed much interest in politics before 2016, we don’t have a record of it; his heroes were pop divas like Paris Hilton, Lady Gaga and the “Real Housewives” star Bethenny Frankel. “But by 2016,” writes Chiusano, “he had found a new role model who brought celebrity glitz and gossip to civics: Donald Trump.”
Soaking in the carnival of media attention that has stalked him since he arrived in DC in 2022, Santos—taking one last stand as a solo act this week—was predictably unmuzzled in the hours leading up to the vote that would decide his political future. He said that it was theater for the cameras, and theater for microphones, and it was also theater for himself. The American people are at the expense of the theater.
But here’s the thing: The process played out as it should. Lawmakers are wise to chart a conservative path when expulsion is on the table. There’s a reason Mr. Santos is only the third member voted off the island since the Civil War. Lawmakers should uphold high ethical standards as they are not above the law. Oh, stop laughing! It’s up to the people of the area to hold them accountable.
Only in the most egregious cases should other lawmakers move to change their will over people who do not agree with them. Without clear triggers — such as a criminal conviction or a meticulous report by a bipartisan committee tasked with such matters — the temptation to wield expulsion like a partisan weapon would become overwhelming. I mean, it’s bad enough that Marjorie Taylor Greene has taken to filing articles of impeachment against anyone who looks at her funny.
Many people have said that they will. Among them, fellow freshman New York lawmakers who represent districts that President Biden won in the 2020 presidential election and thus could be vulnerable in the next election cycle.
Some in the Republican conference, though, will likely remain in Santos’ corner. They include Clay Higgins of Louisiana, who described the report released by the Republican-led House Ethics Committee as politically biased and a character assassination.
Republicans have a razor-thin majority in the House, and Santos represents a district that Biden won by 10 points in 2020. It could be possible for some Republicans to vote to keep Santos in office as a way to keep a Democrat from getting the seat back in the special election.
Giorge Santos should be kicked out of the House of Representatives if he is found guilty of any criminal misdeeds
According to a report by the House Ethics Committee, it corroborates many of the allegations in the indictments.
The embattled congressman is accused by prosecutors of a number of financial misdeeds, including reimbursing himself for loans to his congressional campaign that he appears to have never actually made — in essence, stealing money from campaign donors.
The Republican from New York, who is facing a slew of federal criminal charges, will be kicked out of the House of Representatives on Friday.
Speaker Mike Johnson — a Louisiana Republican and constitutional lawyer — says that while he personally doesn’t like the precedent this would set, his leadership team will not attempt to pressure Republicans to vote either way on the expulsion motion.
The resolution to expel the congressman was put forward by the guest. If the motion is successful, Santos would be just the sixth representative in history to be fired by his colleagues.
He wants his fellow lawmakers to know he wants a dangerous precedent set for them. It would be the first time that a lawmaker had been expelled before being convicted of a crime.
The man continues to deny criminal wrongdoing. The lawmaker compared himself to Mary Magdalene and said that his fellow lawmakers were trying to stone him.
A House Ethics Committee report released last month echoes many of the allegations levied against Santos by prosecutors and accuses Santos of stonewalling investigators by neglecting to turn over promised documents.
Source: George Santos could soon be expelled from Congress
Comments on a Superseding Investigation of a 35-Year-Old Finance Official Whose Campaign Finance Informed the House Ethics Committee
In October, prosecutors added an additional 10 charges in a superseding indictment, following a plea deal by a former campaign finance official affiliated with his campaign.
The House Ethics Committee had accused him of financial fraud and criminal activity and had overstepped his authority as a member of Congress. The ethics report showed thatSantos used campaign funds to buy adult novels and shoes, as well as wire fraud and conspiracy. True to form, Santos said the report was “littered in hyperbole.”
In addition, the 35-year-old lied about being a volleyball star at college, working for two finance firms, and being Jewish, even though he later changed his story.
The North Shore Leader raised questions about a $11 million estimate that Santos made during his campaign. More extensive allegations were published last December in The New York Times.
“It’s all theater,” Rep. George Santos told the nation he had been warned against expulsion from the US Capitol
Politics in America is a big deal. In the arena of Washington, DC, lawmaking and lawbreaking is a fanatical kind of entertainment. Republicans have thrived on a diet of chaos since the rise of former president Donald Trump, turning the performance of democracy into primetime viewing. “The reality of it is, it’s all theater,” Representative George Santos of New York said on Thursday during a press conference on the steps of the US Capitol as he faced expulsion from Congress.
