Group of GOP Colleagues to Push for Expelling Santos

UPDATE Oct 11, 2023 7:50 PM CDT

A half-dozen Republican House members from New York said Wednesday they'll seek to have Rep. George Santos expelled from Congress. "He's a stain on the institution," said Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, who represents the district next to Santos.' House Democrats were unsuccessful in their attempt in May to boot Santos, but the GOP opponents said the time is right because he was just hit with new charges. They also hope to take advantage of the chaos in the Republican House leadership to push the resolution through, the New York Times reports. The New Yorkers want him gone before they face reelection next year. The resolution requires a two-third majority to pass.

Oct 10, 2023 5:49 PM CDT

Days after his campaign treasurer pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge, Rep. George Santos has been charged with 10 more felonies in a superseding indictment, bringing the total to 23. The earlier charges related to three alleged schemes and the new ones are connected to two more. Prosecutors say the New York Republican stole the identities and financial information of campaign donors, making charges on their credit cards without their authorization, the Hill reports. He is also accused of falsely inflating fundraising figures in an effort to qualify for campaign support from the Republican Party, report the New York Times.

Prosecutors say Santos used donors' cards to charge more than $44,000 to his campaign without their knowledge, the AP reports. On one occasion, prosecutors say, he charged $12,000 to a campaign contributor's card and the "vast majority" of the funds ended up in his personal bank account. The new charges include one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, two counts of wire fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

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"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," US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. Santos, he said, "falsely inflated the campaign's reported receipts with nonexistent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen." Earlier Tuesday, former Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who represented Santos' district for six years but declined to seek re-election in 2022, said he would run for the seat next year—or sooner, if Santos steps down or is forced out, Politico reports. (More George Santos stories.)