(Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
OAN’s Abril Elfi
12:56 PM – Thursday, November 16, 2023
Representative George Santos has announced that he will not seek re-election in 2024. New York lawmakers are demanding that he resign immediately.
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On Thursday, Santos (R-N.Y.) announced that he will not be seeking re-election after the House Ethics Committee published a report concluding that there is “substantial evidence” that the New York Republican “violated federal criminal laws,” including using campaign money for personal use and submitting false campaign reports.
“I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents until I am allowed. I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time,” Santos said.
If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the “Ethics committee”, they would have not released this biased report. The Committee went to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming (My legal bills suggest otherwise).
It is a disgusting…
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) November 16, 2023
The subcommittee released a 56-page-report that claimed that Santos “used his connections to high-value donors and other political campaigns” to enrich himself, the report contends. “And he sustained all of this through a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience,” it says.
“He blatantly stole from his campaign. He deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit. He reported fictitious loans to his political committees to induce donors and party committees to make further contributions to his campaign—and then diverted more campaign money to himself as purported ‘repayments’ of those fictitious loans,” the report continues.
Furthermore, according to the study, Santos was “frequently in debt, had an abysmal credit score, and relied on an ever-growing wallet of high-interest credit cards to fund his luxury spending habits.”
According to the article, he also made big cash deposits that he has not accounted for, as well as over a quarter million dollars in cash withdrawals for unclear reasons.
The Ethics panel also identified a slew of dubious campaign expenditures that did not appear to have a “campaign nexus.” They included purchases at Hermes and Ferragamo boutiques, an Airbnb when Santos was on a weekend break in the Hamptons, Botox treatments, and OnlyFans, a subscription-based service frequently used to host pornography.
The Ethics Committee stated that it will transmit its findings, including “uncharged” conduct, to the Justice Department. Amid the report’s circulation on social media, lawmakers began to demand that Santos resign immediately.
Representative Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) said that the House should utilize its expulsion powers.
“The bipartisan Ethics Committee confirmed what most New Yorkers knew months ago: George Santos is a total fraud who stole an election to get to Congress. The House must use our Constitutional expulsion powers. This will let the Third District participate in a valid election,” LaLota Said.
The bipartisan Ethics Committee confirmed what most New Yorkers knew months ago: George Santos is a total fraud who stole an election to get to Congress.
The House must use our Constitutional expulsion powers.
This will let the Third District participate in a valid election.
— Congressman Nick LaLota (@RepLaLota) November 16, 2023
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