{"id":2100787,"date":"2023-11-16T13:37:10","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T18:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/george-santos-wont-seek-reelection-after-damning-ethics-report\/"},"modified":"2023-11-16T13:42:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T18:42:34","slug":"george-santos-wont-seek-reelection-after-damning-ethics-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/george-santos-wont-seek-reelection-after-damning-ethics-report\/","title":{"rendered":"George Santos Won&#8217;t Seek Reelection After Damning Ethics Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgeorge-santos-wont-seek-reelection-after-damning-ethics-report%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2100787&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Embattled U.S. Representative George Santos \u2062Won&#8217;t Seek Reelection After\u200b Damning Report<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Embattled U.S. representative George<span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\"> Santos <\/span>on Thursday said he\u2063 won&#8217;t run for reelection shortly after\u2062 a damning report by his fellow lawmakers\u200b referred &#8220;additional uncharged and unlawful conduct&#8221; by him to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span>, 35,\u2062 a first-term lawmaker from the New York area, has already pleaded not\u2062 guilty to a 23-count federal\u2064 indictment accusing him of an array\u200c of\u200c corruption, including 10 felony counts that prosecutors\u2064 added in October.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I will continue on my mission to serve\u200c my constituents up until I am allowed. I will however <strong>NOT<\/strong> be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024,&#8221; <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos <\/span>said in a post on social media. &#8220;My family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press \u2064all the time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>His announcement came shortly\u2064 after the House \u2063of Representatives&#8217; Ethics Committee released the report concluding <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span>&#8216;s conduct &#8220;is beneath the dignity of \u200cthe office,\u2063 and has brought severe \u2063discredit upon the House.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The\u200c panel&#8217;s Republican chairman, Michael Guest, intends to file a motion on Friday to expel him, according to media reports.<\/p>\n<p><span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos\u2064 <\/span>survived an expulsion vote \u200cearly this month.<\/p>\n<p>The congressman&#8217;s office did not immediately return a request \u200bfor comment. A Department of Justice spokesperson \u2064declined to comment.<\/p>\n<h3>Scandal and\u2062 Controversy Surrounding Santos<\/h3>\n<p><span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos <\/span>came under scrutiny even \u2063before taking office in January after the \u200c <em>New \u200cYork Times<\/em> and other media reported he had fabricated much of his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and\u2063 life story.<\/p>\n<p>His fellow House Republicans held him at arm&#8217;s length, but have not yet expelled him, needing the seat to protect their narrow 221-213 margin. That slim\u200d majority gives them the power to block much of Democratic president Joe Biden&#8217;s \u200bagenda.<\/p>\n<p><span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos <\/span>has faced especially fierce criticism from his fellow New York Republicans in Congress. One of them, Representative Mike Lawler, said he should resign immediately or be forced out.\u2062 &#8220;His conduct is not only unbecoming and \u200dembarrassing, it is criminal,&#8221; Lawler said.<\/p>\n<p><span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos <\/span>dismissed complaints that he had lied about \u2062his education, his work history, and his family as mere r\u00e9sum\u00e9\u2062 embellishment, and continued to serve in a Congress where he had no committee assignments and little \u200binfluence.<\/p>\n<h3>Uncovering Misconduct and Fraudulent Actions<\/h3>\n<p>The\u2064 Ethics Committee said it had uncovered &#8220;substantial evidence&#8221; \u2062that\u200c campaign funds were converted to personal use.<\/p>\n<p>The additional conduct referred to the Justice Department \u200bincludes falsely reported loans received by his failed 2020 campaign, improper loan repayments, and &#8220;systemic reporting\u2062 errors&#8221; in both \u200bhis 2020 and 2022 campaigns,\u2064 the report said.<\/p>\n<p>The report found that <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos <\/span>&#8220;sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of \u2063his House candidacy for his own personal financial \u2063profit,&#8221; adding that &#8220;despite his attempts\u2062 to blame others for much \u200bof the misconduct, Representative <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos <\/span>was a knowing and active participant in the wrongdoing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The\u2062 report also said <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos <\/span>declined to cooperate with the committee&#8217;s investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The Ethics Committee has been investigating him for months, having contacted about 40 witnesses, reviewed more than 170,000 pages of documents, and authorized 37 \u200csubpoenas.<\/p>\n<h3>A Trail of Lies and Deception<\/h3>\n<p>Among other claims, <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos \u2064 <\/span>said he had degrees from New York University and Baruch \u2062College in Manhattan, despite neither institution having any\u200c record of \u2062him attending. He claimed to have worked at Goldman \u2063Sachs\u200b and Citigroup, which was also untrue.<\/p>\n<p>He said \u2063falsely that he was Jewish and \u2064that his grandparents escaped the Nazis during World War Two.<\/p>\n<p>Following those and other\u200d revelations, <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos <\/span>apologized for &#8220;embellishing&#8221; his r\u00e9sum\u00e9, while\u2062 defending aspects of the way he had represented \u2062himself. He has since described\u2063 himself \u200cas &#8220;Jew-ish&#8221; rather than &#8220;Jewish&#8221; when discussing his heritage, telling the <em>New York Post<\/em> that he described himself that way\u2063 because his &#8220;maternal family had a Jewish\u2062 background.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In the political campaign scheme for which <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos <\/span>was indicted, \u2063prosecutors \u2062said he laundered donations into his own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dark-money-free-speech-addressed-by-h-r-1\/\" title=\"Dark money, free speech addressed by H.R.1?\">personal bank accounts<\/a> and used thousands of dollars to pay for personal\u2063 expenses, from luxury clothing to credit card \u2062payments.<\/p>\n<p>He also\u2064 is accused of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/george-santos-wont-seek-reelection-after-damning-ethics-report\/\" title=\"George Santos Won't Seek Reelection After Damning Ethics Report\">repeatedly \u2063making false statements<\/a> about \u2062his income in forms he filed with\u2064 the House.<\/p>\n<p><span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span>&#8216;s congressional district\u2064 contains parts of New York City&#8217;s Queens borough and Long Island&#8217;s \u200cNassau County just east of the city.<\/p>\n<p>(Reporting by Moira Warburton; \u2063additional reporting by Andrew \u200cGoudsward, Gram Slattery, and Sarah N. Lynch; editing by Jonathan Oatis\u200b and Andy Sullivan)<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What recommendations\u2062 did the Ethics Committee\u2064 make regarding \u2062the actions of George Santos<\/h2>\n<p><span>  E report also detailed a pattern of unethical behavior, including falsely reporting contributions and expenditures, \u200cusing \u2063campaign funds for \u2063personal \u200bexpenses, and accepting gifts in\u200c violation of House rules.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation into\u2062 <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span>&#8216;s \u200dmisconduct began \u200bin early 2022, following allegations made by a former campaign aide. \u2064The aide\u200d claimed that <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span> \u200bhad\u2064 directed her \u2064to falsify campaign\u200b finance reports and had misappropriated thousands of dollars in\u200b campaign funds for personal use.<\/p>\n<p>As the investigation unfolded, more evidence of <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span>&#8216;s fraudulent activities came to light. The report stated that \u2064 <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span> had submitted false loan documents to the\u200d Federal\u200b Election Commission, claiming\u200b that he had \u200creceived \u2063loans from\u2062 individuals who later denied ever lending him money. In\u200d reality, \u200d <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span> had used his own money to fund his campaign and had fabricated the loans to create the\u200d appearance of widespread support.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the\u200c financial misconduct,\u2062 the report also highlighted <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span>&#8216;s dishonesty about \u200dhis educational background and \u2062work experience. \u200bHe had falsely claimed to\u2064 hold advanced degrees and had \u200cexaggerated his professional accomplishments in an \u200dattempt \u2062to bolster his credibility as a candidate.<\/p>\n<p>The Ethics Committee&#8217;s \u2063report concluded \u200bthat <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span>&#8216;s actions were \u200dnot only unethical but also criminal. It recommended that the Justice Department pursue\u200d charges against <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span> for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3-trump-associates-in-fulton-county-election-case-plead-not-guilty\/\" title=\"3 Trump associates in Fulton County election case enter not guilty pleas.\">campaign\u2063 finance violations<\/a>,\u200b fraud, and other offenses.<\/p>\n<p>While <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span> maintained his \u200binnocence throughout the\u2062 investigation, the mounting evidence against him and the scathing \u2063report\u200c from\u200c his fellow lawmakers left him with little \u2063choice but \u2062to announce\u2063 his \u200bdecision not \u200dto seek reelection. His decision comes as a\u200d relief to many who believed that his continued presence \u2063in Congress undermined \u200bthe integrity of \u2064the institution and damaged the \u2063public&#8217;s trust in their\u200d elected \u200drepresentatives.<\/p>\n<p>As <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span> steps down from \u200chis position,\u200d the Republican Party will now face the challenge \u200cof finding\u200b a suitable replacement candidate for the upcoming \u200delection. The loss of <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span>&#8216;s seat could have significant implications for \u2064the party&#8217;s ability\u2064 to defend their slim majority in \u200cthe House and advance \u200dtheir policy agenda.<\/p>\n<p>The case of\u200d <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">George Santos<\/span> \u2062serves as a \u2063stark reminder of the importance of\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fetterman-holds-up-his-phone-shows-app-he-has-to-use-to-fully-process-language\/\" title=\"Fetterman Displays Phone App for Language Processing\">holding \u2063elected officials accountable<\/a> for their\u200c actions. It highlights the\u2063 need \u2062for increased \u2064transparency and oversight\u2063 in campaign finance, \u2063as well as stricter\u200c penalties for those\u200b who engage in fraudulent and unethical behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Moving\u200d forward, it is crucial \u2064that steps are \u200dtaken to restore public confidence in the political system and ensure \u2062that \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-unpunished-st-junipero-vandals-are-americas-communist-blue-guards\/\" title=\"America's Communist 'Blue Guards' fail to punish St. Junipero Vandals.\">elected officials uphold<\/a> the highest standards of integrity and\u200d ethics. The resignation of <span data-qa-component=\"highlight-text\">Santos<\/span> should\u200c serve as\u200d a wake-up call for politicians across the country to prioritize the\u200d interests of their constituents\u200c and act with honesty\u200c and integrity in\u200c their roles as public servants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embattled U.S. representative George\u00a0Santos\u00a0on Thursday said he won&#8217;t run for reelection shortly after a damning report by his fellow lawmakers referred &#8220;additional uncharged and unlawful conduct&#8221; by him to the Justice Department for possible prosecution. Santos, 35, a first-term lawmaker from the New York area, has already pleaded not guilty to a 23-count federal indictment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":2100789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2100787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2100787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2100789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2100787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2100787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2100787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}