OAN’s Abril Elfi
6:02 PM – Wednesday, November 1, 2023
The House rejected a Republican-led motion to remove GOP Representative George Santos.
Advertisement
On Wednesday, an effort to expel Santos (R-N.Y.) from the House was filed, but the chamber rejected it in a 179-213-19 vote.
This marks the second time that lawmakers have pushed for the removal of Santos.
The House voted in May to refer a Democrat-led expulsion resolution to the Ethics Committee, an action that was widely considered as unnecessary given that the body had been investigating the lawmaker for months.
The initiative was spearheaded by a group of Santos’ fellow New York Republicans, and it comes as he faces 23 federal accusations and a trial date in September 2024.
It also comes a day after the House Ethics Committee indicated that the “next course of action” in the months-long inquiry would be revealed by November 17th.
In contrast to May, House leadership did not move to refer the expulsion resolution to the committee, which, if approved by a majority vote, would have spared the chamber from having to weigh in on the legislation directly.
New York Republicans indicated last week that they would have rejected any attempt to postpone a vote on the expulsion measure, which would have effectively killed a motion to refer or table.
The reason for forcing the vote, according to the group, was a guilty plea from Santos’s former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, who pleaded guilty to collaborating with the then-candidate to falsify his campaign finance reports.
Soon after Marks struck a plea deal, federal prosecutors charged Santos on 10 new felony counts, accusing him of falsifying his campaign finance records and charging contributors’ credit cards without authorization.
The supplemental indictment increased Santos’ total number of charges to 23.
In May, he was charged with 13 charges of deceiving donors, collecting fake unemployment benefits, and lying on House financial statements.
Santos has pleaded not guilty to all allegations and has remained stubborn in the face of mounting legal difficulties, stating last week that he has no plans to quit.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts