Santos was voted out of the U.S. House (of Representatives) NOT ONLY for lying. Tell the story correctly and completely.
He was kicked out of the House for misusing campaign finances and other violations of Ethics. The House Ethics Committee’s report is very convincing of the violations and crimes committed by Santos.
One problem is that this sets a new precedent that a House member is tossed out before he is actually convicted of a crime in a court of law. To my knowledge this has not happened before in the House.
Over 11 months in office, Mr Santos faced an endless stream of controversy and countless calls to resign from members of both parties.
His troubles began shortly after winning election to the House in November 2022, when the New York Times reported he had lied about a Wall Street career, his college degrees and having Jewish ancestry.
Since then, the allegations have only piled up. He has been accused of a range of fabrications, from scamming Amish dog breeders in Pennsylvania to claiming his mother died in the 9/11 terror attacks.
In May, he was charged with 23 felonies, including wire fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds. He denies the allegations and is awaiting trial.
But the final blow came last month, when the House ethics committee found he had exploited "every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit".
Among its many allegations, the panel accused him of spending campaign money on Botox treatments, credit card debt, OnlyFans - a platform where users pay for content, including pornography - and trips to the Hamptons seaside enclave in New York.
Expulsion votes are rare in Congress and require the backing of two-thirds of the House.
(...)
A group of four New York Republicans, all elected alongside Mr Santos, had been trying to get him ousted.
"The precedent that is set is that we hold members of Congress to a higher standard," said one, Anthony D'Esposito.
(...)
It caps a stunning downfall of a man who scored an upset victory in a Democratic-leaning district and became the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress.
With a federal fraud trial looming next year, some have speculated he will sign a plea deal with prosecutors to avoid prison time, as he did with a case in his native Brazil earlier this year.
If not, he faces a maximum penalty of at least 20 years behind bars.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67593885“They just set a new, dangerous precedent for themselves,” he [Santos] added, noting that he’s the first House member in modern history to be expelled before a federal conviction.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/george-santos-expulsion-congress-ny-house-ethics-committee-rcna127179