WASHINGTON — Embattled Rep. George Santos on Thursday railed against fellow lawmakers, describing Congress as “chaos,” hours before the U.S. House was expected to consider a measure to expel him.
“It’s just an unfortunate circumstance that I have to sit here and watch…Congress waste [the] American people’s time, over and over again, on something that is the power of the people, not the power of Congress, which is to collect and remove members of Congress,” Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) said at an 8 a.m. press conference outside the U.S. Capitol building.
The indicted lawmaker’s remarks came as the House was expected to start debate on his expulsion, with a potential vote coming by weeks end or Monday.
House members were set to consider dueling motions to expel Santos following the release two weeks ago of a blistering House Ethics Committee report that accused him of knowingly engaging in unlawful campaign activities for his personal profit. The report stated Santos used campaign funds for personal expenses, including Botox treatments and designer apparel.
Santos has resisted calls to resign, including from Long Island House Republicans, and has repeatedly said he will stand for the vote.
He has repeatedly argued that the release of the House Ethics report before his September federal criminal trial undercuts his due process rights.
Santos on Thursday maintained the House would be breaking from precedent if it voted to expel him before a criminal conviction.
“If the House wants to start [a] different precedent and expel me, that is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body, because this will haunt them in the future where mere allegations are sufficient to have members removed from office when duly elected by their people in their respective states,” Santos said.
The indicted lawmaker has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal criminal charges, including wire fraud and identity theft. The charges mostly stem from allegations he defrauded…
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