JUST IN: George Santos Announces He Won’t Run for Reelection After Brutal Ethics Report Into His Conduct

Jamie FreveleNov 16th, 2023, 11:30 am
 

Following the release of an intensive ethics report into truth-challenged Rep. George Santos (R-NY), the chairman of the House Ethics Committee stated he would move to expel Santos from the House. Minutes after that news broke, Santos announced on Twitter/X that he would not seek reelection in 2024.

While still maintaining his innocence — Santos has already pleaded not guilty to 23 federal counts including fraud and conspiracy — he posted a screed on Twitter/X proclaiming: “It is a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk. Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of Justice should all be ashamed of themselves.”

While he does announce that he won’t seek reelection, he does say he “will 100% continue to maintain my commitment to my conservative values in my remaining time in Congress.” So he can actually still be expelled.

CNN’s chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju broke the news on the network, bolstered by colleague Melanie Zanona’s reporting. After describing the report as “devastating” to anchor Kate Bolduan, Raju went into further detail about the report and the move to expel:

Look, really looking at all aspects of his life, his conduct and his run-up to his campaign, alleging criminal misconduct, alleging, and calling on the Justice Department to investigate further, since this is going beyond, it says, the indictments that were, that George Santos is now facing and something that he has pleaded not guilty to. Now, what we are learning now from our colleague, Melanie Zanona is that [Rep.] Michael Guest, who’s the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, a Republican from Mississippi, plans to introduce a resolution to expel George Santos from the House of Representatives.

Raju recounted the previous unsuccessful efforts by both Democrats and Republicans to expel Santos, one of which was just two weeks ago. But Raju said this time was different:

This is significant because up until now it has been first, it was initiated by Democrats to kick him out of the House amid all these allegations while the investigation was ongoing. Then it was New York Republican freshmen, people who wanted George Santos out of the delegation and simply were pushing for him, his expulsion, that after both of those efforts failed. But now the Ethics Committee chairman putting his weight behind this, and in a real signal that he believes that the conduct that his committee, this bipartisan committee, has found should warrant George Santos being kicked out of the House.

Among the findings of the Ethics Committee investigation was Santos using campaign funds for personal purposes including paying off his credit card debt, cosmetic procedures, trips to Atlantic City, and his OnlyFans account.

In addition to the Ethics Committee findings, Santos has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements, falsifying records, and aggravated identity theft, among other charges that total 23 counts.

Watch the video above via CNN.

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