Congressman George Santos of New York has ended his 2024 bid for reelection.
The Republican has been accused of violating federal crimes and was the subject of a new report from the House Ethics Committee.
“I will remain steadfast in fighting for my rights and for defending my name in the face of adversity,” said Santos in a post on X on Nov. 16. “I am humbled yet again and reminded that I am human and I have flaws, but I will not stand by as I am stoned by those who have flaws themselves.”
“I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed,” he continued. “I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time.”
Santos also condemned the Ethics Committee for unanimously adopting a Report of the Investigative Subcommittee, which found he “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”
According to the report:
He blatantly stole from his campaign.
He deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit.
He reported fictitious loans to his political committees to induce donors and party committees to make further contributions to his campaign – and then diverted more campaign money to himself as purported “repayments” of those fictitious loans.
He used his connections to high value donors and other political campaigns to obtain additional funds for himself through fraudulent or otherwise questionable business dealings.
And he sustained all of this through a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience
The report recommended that the Ethics Committee refer to the Department of Justice and publicly condemn Santos “whose conduct the ISC found to be beneath the dignity of the office and to have brought severe discredit upon the House.”
“At nearly every opportunity, he placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles,” stated the ISC.
Santos called the report “biased” and an attempt to “smear” him and his legal team.
“It is a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk,” said the 38-year-old. “Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of Justice should all be ashamed of themselves.”
Democrats have condemned Santos and are publicly planning an effort to remove him from office.
Congressman Robert Garcia of California said he plans to bring a second motion to expel Santos from Congress after Thanksgiving.
“I thank the Ethics committee for reaffirming the blatantly obvious fact that George Santos is unfit to serve,” he said in a statement. “Let us not forget that prior to the release of this damning report George Santos already faced 23 criminal charges including wire fraud, conspiracy, making false statements, falsifying records, aggravated identity theft and credit card fraud. George Santos has no place in Congress.”
Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland told The Hill in a text message that he would vote to remove Santos.
“The report’s findings are extremely damning and I would vote to expel,” he said.
