(LibertySociety.com) – Just five months into his first term in the House, Representative George Santos has been indicted and arrested for alleged criminal acts dating back to 2020 and continuing until his election in 2022. According to Axios, Santos was charged by the Department of Justice with wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and giving false statements. Santos is accused of soliciting donations for his campaign, but instead using them for personal bills and clothes. Santos also allegedly sought unemployment benefits during the health emergency, although he was employed and pulling in a lucrative salary.
Rep. Santos is also accused of misrepresenting his income in 2020 and 2022, with instances of claiming he made less than he actually did, and then later claiming the opposite. The U.S. Attorney who announced the charges stated that Santos engaged in “repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress,” adding that he did it for monetary gain. Shortly after being elected in 2022, multiple allegations of dishonesty from Santos were revealed, prompting calls for his resignation from Democrats and some Republicans. Rep. Santos fessed up to the lies, claiming to be remorseful but also calling out other members of Congress for their misrepresentations.
After the false claims made by Rep. Santos were made known, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to remove him from his committees but refrained from asking him to resign from Congress. Rep. Santos dismissed calls for him to resign from other lawmakers, pledging to work for the people of Long Island who elected him to represent them in Congress. Rep. Santos turned himself over to authorities on May 10th, 2023, in Long Island, New York. Speaker McCarthy outlined how it would look for Rep. Santos in Congress while awaiting a possible conviction, noting that the only limitation is not being a member of any committee, which Santos has already been stripped of. Speaker McCarthy, along with other Republican leaders in the House, have all voiced their support for the legal process to unfold, as Rep. Santos has the same rights as any other citizen of the United States.
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