On Thursday, certain Congress members were in an extremely combustible mood as they threw the United States House of Representatives into tumult as the result of a passionate argument.
George Santos (R-NY), apparently with justification, was publicly accused of being a “crook” by Representative Max Miller (R-OH). This follows upon a 56-page report laying out the mind-boggling corruption of Santos was issued earlier this month by the House Committee on Ethics.
According to the findings, Santos spent donors’ money on trips to casinos, shopping at high-end retailers and even Botox treatments and even, umm, OnlyFans payments. Santos has been bracing himself for the prospect of his removal from Congress for some time now, since the inquiry revealed substantial evidence of unlawful acts.
New York Republican Representative Marc Molinaro accused Santos of being “divorced from reality” and of misleading voters and abusing election rules for his own benefit, increasing the tension.
And yet, Santos wanted such heated remarks removed from the record.
As Santos began his retort, he said that his colleague wanted to accuse him of being a criminal.
“[That] very coworker who is alleged to have beaten women,” he protested.
If the reader might indulge in a bit of color commentary, this is very reminiscent of the vibe laid out in The Office episode when Michael takes on Dwight at kid’s dojo…
In any event, it was ‘fully on’ during the House session on Thursday.
Here’s a look at what went down.
“He has manufactured his entire life to defraud the voters of his district and honest choice for a member of Congress,” Molinaro said. He has lied to donors and to colleagues, taking advantage of election law, using campaign funds to personally benefit himself and he has defamed not only his office but the institution itself.”
“He has lost the right to serve in this House and I will vote to expel him.”
According to insider information, some 90 Republicans in the House are expected to back the removal of Santos from Congress this week. During his impassioned speech on Tuesday, Santos cast doubt on the legality of the expulsion procedure.
“In history, five members of Congress have been expelled,” Santos stated. “All five had suffered convictions in a court.”
“All five had due process. This expulsion vote simply undermines and underscores the precedent that we’ve had in this chamber. It starts and puts us in a new direction, a dangerous one that sets a very dangerous precedent for the future.”
This comes after Santos’ first federal indictment in May 2023, when he adamantly denied any wrongdoing. Some Republicans share Santos’s worries; for example, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has already expressed his qualms with the expulsion.
“I said that the Republican Party is the rule of law team, and we are,” said the House Speaker. “We believe in the rule of law. There are people of good faith who make an argument both pro and con for the expulsion resolution for Santos.”
“I personally have real reservations about doing this. I’m concerned about a precedent that may be set for that,” Johnson said.
The U.S. House of Representatives has only expelled members five times in its history.
As for Rep. Matt Gaetz, he perhaps summed it up best.
Matt Gaetz on the resolution to expel George Santos:
“Whatever Mr. Santos did with Botox or OnlyFans is far less concerning to me than the indictment against Sen. Menendez who’s holding gold bars from Egypt while he is still getting classified briefings.”pic.twitter.com/Hzt6KPPwCF
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 30, 2023
“Whatever Mr. Santos did with Botox or OnlyFans is far less concerning to me than the indictment against Sen. Menendez who’s holding gold bars from Egypt while he is still getting classified briefings,” he said.
It looks like Gaetz isn’t down with the “rules for thee, but not for me” attitude of the Democrats.
Fk ☭ongress!
Apparently Santos is in the wrong political party.