House Oversight and Accountability Committee chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said Sunday that newly-elected Representative George Santos, a New York Republican, is a “bad guy” who would be removed from Congress if he is found to have broken campaign finance laws.
While speaking to CNN‘s State of the Union on Sunday, Comer said, “This is something that is really bad. He’s not the first politician unfortunately to make it to Congress to lie. Elizabeth Warren wasn’t truthful about her ethnicity, and I could go on and on. George Santos was duly elected by the people. He is going to be under strict Ethics investigations. Not necessarily for lying, but for his campaign finance potential violations.”
The GOP lawmaker continued: “I think that Santos is being examined thoroughly. It’s his decision whether or not he should resign, it’s not my decision. But certainly, I don’t approve of how he made his way to Congress, and I haven’t even introduced myself to him.”
Santos is facing mounting criticism and calls for his resignation after many claims he made on the campaign trail were proven to be false.
“He’s disgraced the House of Representatives, and we do not consider him one of our congresspeople. His lies were not mere fibs. He disgraced the House of Representatives. He’s not welcome here at Republican headquarters,” Joseph Cairo, chair of the Nassau County GOP, said last week at a press conference.
In response to Cairo, Santos then tweeted: “I was elected to serve the people of #NY03 not the party & politicians, I remain committed to doing that and regret to hear that local officials refuse to work with my office to deliver results to keep our community safe and lower the cost of living. I will NOT resign!”
Some of Santo’s debunked claims are that he graduated from Baruch College in 2010, with a degree in economics and finance. When asked by the New York Post about it, Santos admitted that he didn’t graduate from Baruch and said: “I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my résumé.”
Santos also claimed that his mother, Fatima Devolder, was the descendant of refugees who “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and again fled persecution during WWII.”
However, when speaking to the New York Post again, the New York Republican said he had described himself as “Jew-ish,” rather than “Jewish.”
During his Sunday interview with CNN, Comer concluded: “At the end of the day, it’s not up to me or any other member of Congress to determine whether he can be kicked out for lying. Now, if he broke campaign finance laws, then he will be removed.”
So far, House Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have been hesitant to call for action against Santos. Many pundits suspect that House GOP leaders are not addressing the issue over concerns that removing Santos from office would further jeopardize their already razor-thin majority over Democrats. Last week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said that the issue would be handled “internally.”
“Obviously, there were concerns about what we had heard, and so we’re going to have to sit down and talk to him about it,” Scalise said during a press conference.
Representative Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat and staunch Santos critic, tweeted on Sunday that he was sending McCarthy and House Republican leadership a letter “asking who knew what when about the web of lies surrounding George Santos.”
Torres also introduced a bill that would require candidates running for public office to disclose information about their background and qualifications under oath. The bill is named Stop Another Non-Truthful Office Seeker (SANTOS) Act.
NEWS: I am partnering with Rep. Dan Goldman to send a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Republican Leadership, asking who knew what when about the web of lies surrounding George Santos.
The public has a right to know what House Republican leaders knew about Mr. Santos. pic.twitter.com/EtyQ3IEY4z
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) January 15, 2023
Robert Collins, political analyst and professor at Dillard University, told Newsweek on Sunday, “An official complaint has been filed with the U.S. House Ethics Committee, which has equal number of Democrats and Republicans. There’s also a possibility that referrals could be made to the FBI for campaign finance violations.”
Collins added: “So, he’s going to be embroiled in legal controversies for the next two years. Speaker McCarthy would be well advised to distance himself from him and join the New York Republicans in condemning him.”
Newsweek has reached out to Santos for comment.
The post Republican House Oversight Chairman Slams ‘Bad Guy’ George Santos appeared first on Newsweek.
