Santos, who described himself in the conversation as the Republican “It Girl” as well as the “Mary Magdalene of the United States Congress,” defiantly declared: “I’m not leaving.”
Embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is predicting he will be expelled from Congress as early as this week following the release of a scathing report from the House Ethics Committee that found “substantial evidence” that he knowingly violated ethics guidelines, House rules and criminal laws.In a three-hour-long, expletive-laden conversation held on X Spaces, Santos declined to comment on the array of allegations brought up by the report, claiming that his words could be used against him in an ongoing criminal case in which he faces 23 federal charges, including fraud, money laundering, falsifying records and aggravated identity theft.
Santos did, however, describe the Ethics Committee report as “slanderous” and claimed that his colleagues are trying to force him out of his House seat. He also accused Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) of “weaponizing” his position and publishing a “hit-piece” against him.
Santos, who described himself in the conversation as the Republican “It Girl” as well as the “Mary Magdalene of the United States Congress,” defiantly declared: “I’m not leaving.”
“Come hell or high water, it’s done when I say it’s done,” he said during the conversation on Friday night.
Still, the lawmaker appeared to believe his fate is sealed.
“I know I’m going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor,” said Santos, referring to a motion to remove him that Guest introduced on Nov. 17. “I’ve done the math over and over, and it doesn’t look really good.”
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During the X Spaces conversation, Santos said he does not want to continue working with “with a bunch of hypocrites” in Congress, whom he accused of committing more severe infractions than him, including being “more worried about getting drunk every night” with lobbyists.
Santos, without providing evidence, also accused his colleagues of trying to “sell off the American people” and of voting while hung over.
“They all act like they’re in ivory towers with white pointy hats and they’re untouchable,” he said. “Within the ranks of United States Congress, there’s felons galore.”
Santos also zeroed in on Guest, challenging the Mississippi Republican to “be a man” and quickly move the resolution forward.
A spokeswoman for Guest did not immediately respond to a request for comment. When the Ethics Committee released the report, Guest, in an accompanying statement, said that the evidence uncovered by the investigation into Santos “is more than sufficient to warrant punishment and the most appropriate punishment, is expulsion.”
On Friday, Santos said he will wear his expulsion “like a badge of honor.”
“I’ll be expelled because people simply did not like me,” he said.
― z_tbd, Monday, 27 November 2023 14:38 (seven months ago) link