After ousting Kevin McCarthy from the Speaker’s perch, some Republicans floated the idea of replacing him with four-time indicted former President Donald Trump — despite their own rules which forbid an indicted member from serving in a ranking post.
But twice-indicted con man George Santos proves that House Republicans who don’t care about one’s criminal record don’t need to support Trump as the next speaker.
Talk about an embarrassment of riches for the GOP. It’s not enough that their standard-bearer could be looking at decades in the federal pen; Santos could wind up being the standard-bearer’s cellmate.
On Tuesday, the Queens/Long Island Congress member found himself hit with a second criminal indictment; he was previously booked in May on assorted counts of election fraud and lying to the House about the state of his campaign.
The latest charges allege that Santos and his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, conspired to commit credit card and campaign finance fraud — stealing thousands from unsuspecting donors through phony credit card charges, and falsifying federal documents in order to get campaign funds from the Republican Party.
As usual, Santos continues to deny any wrongdoing, despite previously admitting in December that he lied to voters about his background — a move which shattered any trust a reasonable person could have in whatever he says.
In May, Santos called his first indictment a “witch hunt” — plagiarizing from the Donald Trump criminal defense playbook. Neither the facts nor the law are on his side, so Santos chooses to pound the table and besmirch the criminal justice system.
And he’s still refusing to resign the office he gained through corrupt means — despite having been exposed as a pathological liar; despite becoming a political pariah on Capitol Hill; despite having been indicted for fraud not once, but twice; despite being accused of being a common credit card and identity thief that no reasonable person would ever knowingly choose to represent them in the hallowed halls of Congress.
George Santos hasn’t done anything of substance for his constituents; he’s just there for the paycheck, the pension, and headlines — well, those headlines he wants, anyway.
Whenever he’s mentioned in the news for reasons that have nothing to do with criminality, it’s for acting like a partisan clown — from introducing legislation to make the AR-15 the national firearm of the U.S., to mocking Democrat Jamaal Bowman on video for the fire alarm he pulled on Capitol Hill last month.
Santos is a disgrace to the seat he holds and the people he purports to represent. Since he won’t go voluntarily, the House (once it finally resolves its speaker boondoggle) must move swiftly to expel Santos from the chamber.
At long last, a group of Republicans, led by Long Island’s own Nick LaLota and Anthony D’Esposito, declared they would introduce a motion to do just that, once the House finally gets back to business. Will a majority of Republicans back them considering how so many of them wanted the indicted Trump’s endorsed speaker candidate?
Get the hook for George Santos. The clown show is over.
