UPDATE (Oct. 11, 2023, 12:54 p.m. ET): A group of House Republicans from New York said they will introduce a resolution on Wednesday to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., from Congress.
It was less than a week ago when Nancy Marks, Rep. George Santos’ former campaign treasurer, pleaded guilty in connection with the criminal case against the Republican congressman. Rep. Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, responded to the developments via social media, noting that this was “very bad for George Santos.”
The Democratic lawmaker added that it seemed likely that the scandal-plagued New Yorker would soon face additional charges. As it turns out, that’s precisely what happened. NBC News reported overnight:
Federal prosecutors hit Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., with 23 additional charges Tuesday, including allegations of identity theft and that he charged a supporter’s credit card in excess of the supporter’s contribution and then transferred the money to his personal bank account.
Prosecutors said Santos faces “one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), two counts of falsifying records submitted to obstruct the FEC, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of access device fraud” in a superseding indictment.
It’s worth noting that Santos, whose reputation was already in tatters as his political career got underway in January, was first charged by federal prosecutors five months ago, when the Justice Department charged the congressman with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. Santos pleaded not guilty to the charges.
This new indictment replaces — and adds to — the first one, expanding the scope of the Republican’s potential criminal liabilities.
“As alleged, Santos is charged with stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign,” Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “Santos falsely inflated the campaign’s reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen.”
Santos declined NBC News’ request for comment on Tuesday, saying, “I have not had access to my phone.”
NBC News’ report added that the congressman “is also alleged to have been involved in a credit card scheme in which the campaign would charge contributors’ credit cards repeatedly and above FEC individual contribution limits.”
All of which is to say, Santos’ many problems appear to be getting worse. In the wake of the latest revelations, two of his fellow New York Republicans — Reps. Anthony D’esposito and Nick LaLota — told CNN that if Santos doesn’t resign, the House should consider his expulsion. “He’s a terrible human being, first off, he does not deserve to be in the House of Representatives. He deserves to be in a federal prison,” LaLota said. By all accounts, it remains unlikely that House Republican leaders — to the extent that the conference has an existing leadership team — will come to the same conclusion. Remember, as of a month ago, the House GOP’s majority conference had 222 members. Utah’s Chris Stewart stepped down on Sept. 15, lowering the total to 221. It generally takes 218 members to do much of anything in the chamber, and if Santos were forced to exit, Republicans would be left with 220 members — a total that includes several far-right lawmakers inclined to ignore party leaders’ wishes. In other words, no matter how embarrassing Santos becomes for himself, his constituents, his party, or the institution in which he serves, Republicans need his vote.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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