Rep. George Santos charged by Justice Department in federal probe

Say it aint so · May 9, 2023

"Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against New York Rep. George Santos, the Republican lawmaker whose astonishing pattern of lies and fabrications stunned even hardened politicos, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Santos is expected to appear as soon as Wednesday at federal court in New York’s eastern district, where the charges have been filed under seal.

The exact nature of the charges couldn’t immediately be learned but the FBI and the Justice Department public integrity prosecutors in New York and Washington have been examining allegations of false statements in Santos’ campaign finance filings and other claims.

The congressman’s attorney declined to comment. Spokespeople for the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office, the Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment." CNN

Remember what McCarthy said, "McCarthy: Santos Will Get Committee Assignments Because He Hasn’t Been Criminally Charged"

What now?

DaisyDay · May 9, 2023

I think he stepped down from his committee assignments until he was able to clear his name, which doesn't seem likely now.

Santos steps down from committee assignments

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is stepping down from his committee assignments, he informed House GOP colleagues on Tuesday in a conference meeting. The representative had faced a whirlwind of critici…

thehill.com

Handmaid for Jesus · May 10, 2023

Cnn

Tinker Grey · May 10, 2023

Here's the 20-page indictment: George Santos arrested on 13 federal criminal charges: Read the indictment here

ThatRobGuy · May 10, 2023

Wow, what a shocker...and he seemed like such an honest guy. </sarcasm>

USincognito · May 11, 2023

Man. I can't believe how many witches we're finding.

wing2000 · May 11, 2023

Maybe the GOP should clean house first.....

The House is preparing to vote this week on a Republican-backed bill that would clamp down on fraud in the nation’s unemployment insurance program, mere days after Rep. George Santos — a GOP lawmaker and a co-sponsor of the legislation — was indicted in federal court for allegedly bilking the benefits.
....
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors took Santos into custody on an array of fraud charges, including allegations that he improperly collected more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits in New York. The Justice Department alleged that Santos received the weekly aid despite having a job at the time, which would have made him ineligible for help. The New York congressman has pleaded not guilty.
....
With Santos, prosecutors this week accused the congressman of having engaged in a “fraud scheme” dating back to the earliest days of the pandemic, before he was elected to office. The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, said he applied for jobless aid in New York around June 17, 2020, claiming to have been unemployed since that March. Each week, Santos repeatedly attested — as the program requires — that “he was unemployed, available to take on new work and eligible for benefits,” the Justice Department alleged.
But the indictment charged that Santos actually had been a regional director at a company that prosecutors obscured in the complaint as “investment firm #1,” describing it as a “Nevada corporation with its principal place of business in Melbourne, Florida.” In total, the government alleges that Santos collected $24,744 in unemployment benefits “based on a false application and false weekly certifications,” all the while collecting an annual salary of $120,000 from the investment firm.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/10/unemployement-fraud-santos/

wing2000 · May 11, 2023

...and yet, the Speaker continues to support him.

Arcangl86 · May 11, 2023

wing2000 said:
...and yet, the Speaker continues to support him.

Because he won't be speaker anymore without Santos' vote.

Handmaid for Jesus · May 11, 2023

Arcangl86 said:
Because he won't be speaker anymore without Santos' vote.

Will Santos still be voting if convicted?

Arcangl86 · May 11, 2023

Handmaid for Jesus said:
Will Santos still be voting if convicted?

In theory yes actually. Conviction won't affect his status as a sitting congressman, and it's entirely within the House's purview to create a proxy system for incarcerated members.

wing2000 · May 11, 2023

...seems like the primary voters in his district will end his brief congressional stint:

One thing he can do is run for re-election, which he has said he still plans to do. But on Wednesday, Ed Cox, the chairman of the state G.O.P., said that local Republicans would likely force him out through the primary. “He’s out, no matter how you do it, because we have a good party in Nassau County,” Mr. Cox said in an interview.

Meanwhile, back in Brazil, his case is proceeding (though, if he's convicted in the US, he'll like face years of US prison time before Brazil can get to him):

On Thursday, Brazilian law enforcement authorities are holding a hearing on a check fraud case against Mr. Santos, stemming from a 2008 incident in which he was accused of stealing a checkbook from a man his mother, a nurse, had cared for.

What Comes Next for George Santos? (Published 2023)

The fraud and money laundering charges unsealed on Wednesday do not immediately restrict Mr. Santos from serving in Congress, but the consequences in the months ahead could be severe.

www.nytimes.com

Handmaid for Jesus · May 11, 2023

Arcangl86 said:
In theory yes actually. Conviction won't affect his status as a sitting congressman, and it's entirely within the House's purview to create a proxy system for incarcerated members.

That is crazy! Inmates running the asylum. :sigh:

wing2000 · May 11, 2023

wing2000 said:
On Thursday, Brazilian law enforcement authorities are holding a hearing on a check fraud case against Mr. Santos, stemming from a 2008 incident in which he was accused of stealing a checkbook from a man his mother, a nurse, had cared for.

What Comes Next for George Santos? (Published 2023)

The fraud and money laundering charges unsealed on Wednesday do not immediately restrict Mr. Santos from serving in Congress, but the consequences in the months ahead could be severe.

www.nytimes.com

Rep. George Santos signed a deal with Brazilian prosecutors Thursday in which the New York Republican confessed to theft and agreed to pay restitution and fines if prosecutors agree to drop the criminal case against him, bringing a likely resolution in a case that has tailed the embattled politician for more than a decade.

Santos appeared virtually Thursday afternoon at the criminal court hearing in the Rio suburb of Niterói, during which he was given 30 days to pay around $2,000 in fines and $2,800 to the victim. The case won’t be dismissed until the payments are made, court officials said.
https://t.me/washingtonpost?itid=lk_cta_ssinline?itid=lk_cta_ssinline

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/11/george-santos-brazil-case-theft/

Pommer · May 11, 2023

wing2000 said:
Rep. George Santos signed a deal with Brazilian prosecutors Thursday in which the New York Republican confessed to theft and agreed to pay restitution and fines if prosecutors agree to drop the criminal case against him, bringing a likely resolution in a case that has tailed the embattled politician for more than a decade.

Santos appeared virtually Thursday afternoon at the criminal court hearing in the Rio suburb of Niterói, during which he was given 30 days to pay around $2,000 in fines and $2,800 to the victim. The case won’t be dismissed until the payments are made, court officials said.
The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/11/george-santos-brazil-case-theft/

It’s like a poorly written Austin Powers sequel.

USincognito · May 11, 2023

wing2000 said:
Maybe the GOP should clean house first.....

The House is preparing to vote this week on a Republican-backed bill that would clamp down on fraud in the nation’s unemployment insurance program, mere days after Rep. George Santos — a GOP lawmaker and a co-sponsor of the legislation — was indicted in federal court for allegedly bilking the benefits.
....
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors took Santos into custody on an array of fraud charges, including allegations that he improperly collected more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits in New York. The Justice Department alleged that Santos received the weekly aid despite having a job at the time, which would have made him ineligible for help. The New York congressman has pleaded not guilty.
....
With Santos, prosecutors this week accused the congressman of having engaged in a “fraud scheme” dating back to the earliest days of the pandemic, before he was elected to office. The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, said he applied for jobless aid in New York around June 17, 2020, claiming to have been unemployed since that March. Each week, Santos repeatedly attested — as the program requires — that “he was unemployed, available to take on new work and eligible for benefits,” the Justice Department alleged.
But the indictment charged that Santos actually had been a regional director at a company that prosecutors obscured in the complaint as “investment firm #1,” describing it as a “Nevada corporation with its principal place of business in Melbourne, Florida.” In total, the government alleges that Santos collected $24,744 in unemployment benefits “based on a false application and false weekly certifications,” all the while collecting an annual salary of $120,000 from the investment firm.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/10/unemployement-fraud-santos/

Patty of law and order.

At least for people they don't like.

essentialsaltes · May 17, 2023

House to consider Democratic resolution to expel George Santos from Congress

The House will take up a Democratic-backed resolution on Wednesday that would expel GOP Rep. George Santos from Congress, but Republicans are expected to block its passage by referring the bill to a committee that's already investigating him.

When asked Tuesday whether he supported the resolution or would move to block it, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he wanted the Ethics Committee to "move rapidly on this."

The move would give vulnerable Republicans cover from being forced to go on the record over whether the indicted New York congressman should keep his seat. Republicans hold a slim four-seat majority in the House.

House Democrats called the maneuver a "cop out." Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, a former federal prosecutor, said he expects the Justice Department will ask the Ethics Committee to pause its inquiry while Santos is prosecuted.

wing2000 · May 17, 2023

essentialsaltes said:
The move would give vulnerable Republicans cover from being forced to go on the record over whether the indicted New York congressman should keep his seat. Republicans hold a slim four-seat majority in the House.

...speaks to the sad state of today's Republican party. They need "cover" to expel a Congressmen who is under Federal indictment....

essentialsaltes · May 18, 2023

essentialsaltes said:
House to consider Democratic resolution to expel George Santos from Congress
Republicans are expected to block its passage by referring the bill to a committee that's already investigating him.

House votes to refer resolution to expel George Santos to Ethics Committee

[Largely along party lines]
Santos also voted to refer the resolution.

wing2000 · Nov 16, 2023

Will this prompt the House Republicans to finally expel him?

House investigators found “substantial evidence” that Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) knowingly violated a litany of ethics guidelines, House rules and criminal laws, according to a House Ethics Committee report released Thursday that prompted Santos to declare he would not seek reelection next year.
The report detailed a sweeping array of alleged misconduct that included Santos stealing money from his campaign, deceiving donors about how contributions would be used, creating fictitious loans and engaging in fraudulent business dealings. Santos, the report alleged, repeatedly used funds intended for his campaign for personal enrichment, including spa charges and paying down his own credit card debt.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/16/george-santos-ethics-committee-report/

Rep. George Santos charged by Justice Department in federal probe

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House to consider Democratic resolution to expel George Santos from Congress​

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House to consider Democratic resolution to expel George Santos from Congress​

House votes to refer resolution to expel George Santos to Ethics Committee​

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House to consider Democratic resolution to expel George Santos from Congress

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