Prominent Democrat Defends Vote Against Expelling George Santos: ‘Would Be a Terrible Precedent to Set’

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House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) defended his decision to vote against the expulsion of Rep. George Santos (R-NY) from the House on Wednesday, arguing it “would be a terrible precedent to set.”

After a House vote to expel Santos failed with 213 votes against and 179 in favor on Wednesday, Raskin emphasized the importance of due process in a statement defending his vote.

“I’m a Constitution guy. The House has expelled five people in our history, three for joining the Confederacy as traitors to the Union and two after they were convicted of criminal offenses,” said Raskin, adding:

Santos has not been criminally convicted yet of the offenses cited in the Resolution nor has he been found guilty of ethics offenses in the House internal process. This would be a terrible precedent to set, expelling people who have not been convicted of a crime and without internal due process. If and when Santos is convicted of these serious criminal offenses or ethics charges, I will certainly vote to expel. Until then, it’s a very risky road to go down and we have to stick by due process and the rule of law, as obvious as the eventual result seems. I can think of four or five Democratic Members the Republicans would like to expel without a conviction or adverse ethics findings. We can’t abandon due process and the rule of law in the House of Representatives.

Raskin and 30 other House Democrats sided with the majority of Republicans in voting against Santos’ expulsion on Wednesday, while 24 Republicans voted for expulsion.

Santos was indicted in May on 13 charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds. Last month, Santos was hit with an additional 10 felony charges, including identity theft, credit card fraud, and conspiracy against the United States.