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The US House of Representatives expels one of its members. It was the first time in 20 years

The US House of Representatives voted Friday to expel New York Rep. George Santos, a Republican, after a critical ethics report into his conduct accused him of converting campaign donations for personal use.

He is only the sixth member in the history of the US House to be ousted by his colleagues.

The vote to expel was 311-114. Expulsion requires the support of two-thirds of the House, a deliberately high bar, but a scathing report from the House Ethics Committee accusing Santos of violating federal law proved decisive.

When it became clear that he would be expelled, Santos put his coat over his shoulders, shook hands with conservative members who voted against his expulsion and left the House floor.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a respected religious conservative, finally asked the House clerk to inform the governor of New York that Santos' former House seat was now vacant.

Santos had opposed the expulsion attempt, leading his defense during the debate in the House and conducting a press conference and interviews. “I will not stand by silently,” Santos said as lawmakers Thursday night debated his removal. “The people of New York's Third District sent me here. If they want me out, you're going to have to silence those people and go get the tough vote.”

In reality, immediately after the elections, trouble began for him and for the party. Reports began to emerge that Santos had lied about his Jewish origins, a career at major Wall Street firms, and a college degree. His presence in the House quickly became a distraction and an embarrassment to the party.

In early March, the House Ethics Committee announced it was launching an investigation into Santos. Then in May, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York indicted Santos, accusing him of deceiving donors, stealing from his campaign and lying to Congress. Prosecutors would later add additional charges in an updated 23-count indictment.

The indictment alleges that he stole the identities of campaign donors and then used their credit cards to make tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges. Federal prosecutors say Santos, who has pleaded not guilty, transferred some of the money to his personal bank account and used the rest to pad his campaign coffers.

Meanwhile, Ethics Committee investigators spent eight months investigating Santos and interviewing witnesses. Once its work was completed, the commission said it had amassed “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking by Santos that it sent to the Justice Department. The evidence appears overwhelming.

A very rare practice

Of the previous six expulsions in the history of the House, three were for disloyalty to the Union during the Civil War, so they date back 160 years, and to an extremely unique situation. The remaining two occurred after the lawmakers were convicted of crimes in federal court, the last case of which was in the early 2000s. Santos has made his case to remain in office by appealing directly to lawmakers who fear setting a new precedent that could make expulsions more common.

Johnson was among those who expressed concern about Santos' removal, even as he told members to vote their conscience. Other leaders agreed with his reasoning and opposed the expulsion. But some Republicans, including Santos' New York colleagues, said voters would appreciate lawmakers being held to higher standards.


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The article The US House of Representatives expels its own member. It was the first time in 20 years it came from Scenari Economici .


This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-camera-dei-rappresentati-usa-espelle-un-proprio-membro-era-la-prima-volta-da-20-anni/ on Fri, 01 Dec 2023 21:02:39 +0000.