George Santos, a New York Republican who faked his resume to get elected, faces expenses of id theft and fraud
Republican congressman George Santos pleaded not responsible to expenses together with id theft, embezzlement and wire fraud on Friday on the US District Courtroom in Central Islip, New York. The New York consultant is going through potential expulsion from the Home of Representatives as quickly as subsequent week.
Santos, who grew to become the primary brazenly homosexual Republican elected to the Home in 2022, was charged earlier this month with stealing marketing campaign donors’ identities and working up hundreds of {dollars} in fraudulent expenses on their bank cards.
He was additionally accused of embezzling funds from his firm and dealing along with his former marketing campaign supervisor – who has already pleaded responsible to her half within the alleged crime – to falsify marketing campaign donation data with a view to qualify for monetary assist from the Republican Get together.
Santos had already been indicted in Could on 13 federal expenses, together with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of cash laundering, one rely of theft of public funds and two counts of creating materially false statements to the Home. Amongst different claims, he was accused of establishing a phony firm to solicit “marketing campaign contributions” that he diverted to non-public bills, together with designer clothes.
Following his second indictment earlier this month, the embattled consultant insisted that he nonetheless deliberate to run for reelection in 2024 regardless of his authorized troubles, vowing to struggle the fees “till the bitter finish.”
Fellow New York Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito launched a decision on Thursday to expel Santos from Congress. The freshman congressman is “not match to serve his constituents as a United States consultant,” D’Esposito said, mentioning Santos’ bogus claims about his and his household’s connections to “main occasions, together with the Holocaust, 9/11 terrorist assaults, and the Pulse nightclub taking pictures,” in addition to the mounting felony expenses towards him.
The measure was co-sponsored by 4 different congressmen and is predicted to be voted on as early as subsequent week. In response, Santos issued a number of “factors of clarification” in a put up to X (previously Twitter) on Thursday, stressing that he was not resigning and was entitled to due course of.
Newly minted Home Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson appeared to agree throughout an interview with Fox Information’ Sean Hannity on Thursday, through which Johnson, citing the Republicans’ “razor-thin majority” in Congress, affirmed that “George Santos is due due course of.”
Santos’ profession in Congress has been dogged by revelations that he largely fictionalized his private and political historical past – from his skilled resume to his non secular heritage and his felony document – solely to sail right into a contested Home seat with out a lot as a cursory fact-check from the Democratic opposition. He has admitted to “embellishing” his biography however has denied all wrongdoing.
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