So Repubs Defrock McCarthy but Santos is OK?

[Nickdfresh]

From Kimmel @ 8:55 mark:

[FORD]

Full on Kitara Anthony George Devolder Ravache Santos Meltdown w/ baby human shiekl.

[Nitro Express]

When you are on the Titanic and all the life boats are gone just enjoy the circus panic causes.

[Kristy]

Another propaganda Puke Yuger vid.

[FORD]

George Anthony Kitara Ravache Devolder Santos Won't Seek Re-Election

nytimes.com
Santos Won’t Seek Re-election After House Panel Finds Evidence of Crimes
Grace Ashford
Nov. 16, 2023Updated 12:16 p.m. ET

The House Ethics Committee on Thursday found “substantial evidence” that Representative George Santos violated federal law, setting the stage for another push to expel the embattled first-term Republican from New York and prompting him to declare that he would not seek re-election.

House investigators found evidence that Mr. Santos used campaign funds for personal purposes, defrauded donors and filed false or incomplete campaign finance and financial disclosure reports, according to a 56-page report released on Thursday.

The committee voted unanimously to refer its findings to the Department of Justice, saying that Mr. Santos’s conduct “warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House.”

And while the panel refrained from recommending any punitive measures, there were already indications that the report could be the catalyst for a third effort to remove Mr. Santos from office. Numerous members of Congress have previously said that they would support his expulsion if the committee found criminal wrongdoing or a severe breach of ethics.

“Most of us have never seen anything like this — this extensive, this brazen, and this bold,” said Representative Glenn F. Ivey, Democrat of Maryland, who sits on the Ethics Committee.

Mr. Ivey, a former federal prosecutor, said he believed the panel had uncovered additional evidence that could be used in Mr. Santos’s federal prosecution.

Mr. Santos, 35, a Republican representing parts of Long Island and Queens, already faces a 23-count federal indictment that includes accusations that he stole from his donors and falsified election campaign filings.

Mr. Santos, who did not respond to a request for comment, has resisted calls for his resignation, and has pleaded not guilty.

But shortly after the report was released, Mr. Santos announced on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, that he would not seek re-election in 2024.

Even so, he appeared to take issue with the panel’s findings, writing: “If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the “Ethics committee,” they would have not released this biased report.”

After a nearly nine-month inquiry, ethics investigators concluded that Mr. Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” according to the report, which said that he sustained his campaign “through a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience.”

Mr. Santos reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in fictitious loans to his campaign, the report said, then repaid himself with real money.

The report also detailed how Mr. Santos submitted numerous expenditures that did not appear to have a campaign purpose, from travel and hotel stays in Las Vegas that corresponded to the time when he told staff members he was on his honeymoon to thousands of dollars at spas. At least two payments were described as being for Botox.

Some of the most salacious details of the report concern a company called RedStone Strategies, which Mr. Santos used to raise money without being constrained by campaign contribution limits.

Investigators found that Mr. Santos transferred at least $200,000 to himself from RedStone through numerous transactions in 2022, some of which was used to pay off personal credit cards and make purchases at Hermes, Sephora and OnlyFans, a website known for its adult content.

The findings appeared to undermine Mr. Santos’s underlying criminal defense strategy. The congressman has repeatedly denied involvement in his campaign’s finances, saying that his treasurer had “gone rogue.”

But investigators found that Mr. Santos was “heavily involved” in financial matters, noting that he received weekly finance reports and invoices and had login credentials to campaign bank accounts.

Mr. Santos’s treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to federal charges last month, becoming the first person associated with his campaign to do so. The second, a campaign aide named Samuel Miele, pleaded guilty earlier this week.

The committee was not able to substantiate accusations that Mr. Santos was guilty of sexual harassment. The allegations were made last February by a prospective aide who accused Mr. Santos of coming onto him, then firing him after his advances were rebuffed. The Santos campaign said that it had fired the aide after learning of wiretapping charges he faced in Ohio.

Earlier this month, a bloc of first-term Republicans representing moderate districts in Mr. Santos’s home state of New York forced a vote on his expulsion from Congress. That effort failed decisively, with many House members saying they were leery of setting a precedent for removal without a finding from a court or the Ethics Committee.

Those critics, including Anthony D’Esposito, a fellow Long Island Republican, have wasted little time in using the ethics investigation to push their colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reconsider Mr. Santos’s expulsion.

Representative Dan Goldman, Democrat of New York, said in a statement on Thursday that he would file a motion after Thanksgiving to expel Mr. Santos from the House.

The Ethics Committee has described the Santos investigation, which came after a series of complaints from both members of Congress and the public, as “a priority for the investigative team” that utilized a “significant amount of the committee’s resources.”

The panel contacted roughly 40 witnesses, reviewed more than 170,000 pages of documents, and authorized 37 subpoenas.

The probe covered a range of alleged criminal and ethical violations, including accusations that the congressman violated conflict of interest laws while conducting business for his firm, the Devolder Organization, and failed to properly file financial disclosures.

Some of that conduct is also being taken up by federal prosecutors, who have charged Mr. Santos with a variety of crimes involving his personal and campaign finances.

Mr. Santos’s re-election campaign had already faced an uphill battle. Even before he announced in April that he would run for re-election, state and county party officials said they would not support his efforts. His fund-raising totals lagged behind potential challengers.

Last month, Thomas R. Suozzi, the Long Island Democrat whose failed bid for governor in 2022 may have helped clear the way for Mr. Santos to get to Congress, announced that he would run for his old seat, in hopes of returning the swing district to Democratic control.

[FORD]

[Seshmeister]

When you consider the number of crooks and weasels in there over the years, to be only the sixth to ever be kicked out of the House shows some real next level douchery.

[silverfish]

George Santos Has Finally Been Expelled
After two indictments, a scathing House Ethics report, and countless scandals, George Santos has
finally been expelled from the US House of Representatives. On Friday, in a 311-114 vote, the House
removed the disgraced New York Republican, making Santos the sixth member of the House to be
expelled in US history.

“It’s over,” Santos reportedly told CNN’s Annie Grayer. “The House spoke that’s their vote. They just set
new dangerous precedent for themselves” He added: “Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this
place.”

Full story at:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/12/george-santos-expelled/

[Romeo Delight]

When you consider the number of crooks and weasels in there over the years, to be only the sixth to ever be kicked out of the House shows some real next level douchery.

He is that to be sure.

But how are people like Mayorkas still allowed to serve?

It is unconscionable

[Seshmeister]

He is that to be sure.

But how are people like Mayorkas still allowed to serve?

It is unconscionable

Never heard of him. Is he corrupt?

[Nickdfresh]

Never heard of him. Is he corrupt?

He's a Homeland Security Secretary, not sure what the fuck he is talking about other than it seems the extreme "Liberty Caucus" (Marjorie Taylor) want him impeached. Just not sure for exactly fucking what as even most Republicans have no stomach for it...

Ia Romeo big Large Marge fan? I mean she might be barred from reelection herself as someone tits deep into the Jan 6th insurrection and sedition...

[ZahZoo]

Never heard of him. Is he corrupt?

He's the top guy at Homeland Security and responsible for protecting our borders... inept for sure... not necessarily corrupt. He's clearly not performing at an acceptable level with all that's going on at both the southern and northern borders since he took the job. But it can be said he's just executing based on the current administration's policy set by whoever is really running things in Washington...

[Nitro Express]

I don’t think anyone is really running anything in Washington. It’s one big dysfunctional mess.

[FORD]

George Anthony Kitara Ravache Devolder Santos is running for Congress. Again.

(CNN) Former GOP Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from the House last year and is facing federal charges, announced Thursday night that he’s running for Congress again — this time to challenge a Republican congressman in New York.

“Tonight, I want to announce that I will be returning to the arena of politics and challenging Nick for the battle over #NY1,” Santos wrote on X, referring to GOP Rep. Nick LaLota. “I look forward to debating him on the issues and on his weak record as a Republican. The fight for our majority is imperative for the survival of the country.”

The former congressman, who had represented New York’s 3rd District, made his announcement during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Thursday — during which he was spotted at the US Capitol.

Santos enters a battleground contest in New York that’s among several races in the state that could decide the House majority – though he’ll face steep odds for his comeback bid, even setting aside his personal baggage, in challenging an incumbent in a June primary.

LaLota quickly hit back at Santos’ new bid Thursday night. “To raise the standard in Congress, and to hold a pathological liar who stole an election accountable, I led the charge to expel George Santos. If finishing the job requires beating him in a primary, count me in,” LaLota said.

LaLota had introduced a resolution to expel his fellow New York Republican last fall, saying that he deserved “to be in prison.”

In his announcement for his new campaign, Santos called his former colleague a RINO, or Republican in Name Only. “New York hasn’t had a real conservative represent them since I left office arbitrarily, thanks to RINO, empty suits like @nicklalota,” he wrote on X.

A crowded field of Democrats has assembled to try to flip New York’s 1st District, which is rated Lean Republican by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.

John Avlon, a former CNN commentator, and Nancy Goroff, a professor emeritus at Stony Brook University who lost a bid for the House in 2020, are among the lead contenders on the Democratic side.

“Bring it on,” Avlon said in a statement Thursday night responding to Santos’ new campaign.

The Santos for Congress campaign also filed organization paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night, stating his intention to run in the 1st District. The campaign’s new filing identified the return of a treasurer who previously worked for Santos.

Santos is the sixth lawmaker ever to be expelled from the chamber. He has separately pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including allegations of fraud related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports.