The
move comes a day after federal prosecutors filed 23 fresh
criminal counts against the first-term U.S. representative,
accusing him of inflating his campaign's fundraising numbers and
charging campaign contributors' credit cards without their
consent.
Santos, who represents a district including parts of New York
City and its eastern suburbs, has been enmeshed in scandal since
his November 2022 election, first facing accusations that he
fabricated much of his resume and then criminal indictment.
But with a narrow 221-212 majority, the House's Republican
leadership has not taken action.
Santos pleaded not guilty to an initial May indictment and has
said he will do the same for the new one.
The charges against Santos include false statements, aggravated
identity theft and credit card fraud, accusing him of using the
credit card information of people who had already donated to his
campaign to make additional contributions.
"He has no business being in the halls of the House of
Representatives. He's an immoral person, he's an untrustworthy
person, he's scammed hundreds of thousands of voters,"
Representative Nick LaLota, a Republican who also represents a
New York suburb, told reporters on Wednesday.
A motion to expel would require support from two-thirds of
members in the House, meaning 290 votes. Democrats have
repeatedly called for Santos to be expelled, and over a dozen
Republicans have done the same.
"If they want to be judge, jury and arbitrator of the whole
goddamn thing, let them do it," Santos said on Wednesday.
LaLota said the group did not yet have support from the required
two-thirds of the House, but predicted the resolution would
"catch fire."
It is unclear when the motion would get a vote on the House
floor, given that Republicans are currently trying to elect a
new nominee for speaker after eight Republicans sided with all
Democrats to oust Kevin McCarthy in a historic first last week.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton; Editing by Scott Malone and
Jonathan Oatis)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](column_spacer.png)
|
|