There’s no denying the fact that virtually every ruling class elite is, at least, to some extent, a crook.
They lie, cheat, and steal while claiming that’s just how politics goes.
But now Washington, D.C., is in chaos after this Republican Congressman was arrested on numerous federal criminal charges.
Stick a fork in him – he’s done
One of the more bizarre sagas in recent American political history is undoubtedly the tangled web of lies weaved by Rep. George Santos (R-NY).
In order to be elected to Congress, Santos claimed to be a New York University-educated Republican – which should have been a dead giveaway – who previously worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and was the descendant of Holocaust survivors, amongst many other claims – but apparently, none of it was true.
He even campaigned as an openly gay candidate, but it was later revealed that he spent years married to a woman and only received a divorce right before launching his campaign – oh, and his supposed male partner apparently just doesn’t even exist.
Nevertheless, as he didn’t really commit a crime by lying about literally every aspect of his life to be elected, he’s continued to hold his seat as a duly elected Member of Congress.
But now, after being under investigation for months by multiple jurisdictions and the House Ethics Committee, Rep. Santos has been arrested on 13 separate federal criminal charges.
According to a report from CNN, Santos was charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making false statements to Congress.
Reports also indicated that he was arrested in Melville back in his home district on Long Island, New York.
The House Ethics Committee’s investigation into the disgraced Congressman has centered around accusations of campaign finance law violations stemming from campaign finance filings many experts believe were structured to avoid disclosing certain purchases.
This guy has a screw loose
Ultimately, Santos was arraigned on Wednesday in a New York courthouse, but he chose to plead not guilty to all charges levied against him.
“The reality is, this is a witch hunt,” Santos said, speaking to the media outside the courthouse after pleading not guilty. “This is the beginning for me of the ability to address and defend myself.”
While it wasn’t surprising that Santos refused to resign his seat, possibly the most mind-boggling moment of the entire ordeal came when he declared that he will, in fact, still seek reelection to Congress, a rather obvious sign that he is beyond delusional.
“I will not resign,” Santos told the media with a courthouse that will decide his fate as his backdrop. “Elections are very tricky, and it’s up to the people. I trust them to decide what’s best.”
Even a con-man like Santos isn’t going to be able to talk his way anywhere close to being reelected – besides, he should probably be a little more focused on keeping his freedom rather than worrying about keeping his Congressional seat.
While Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) rightly made the decision to not expel the Congressman after reports suggested he was the ultimate liar – avoiding setting a dangerous, slippery-slope precedent by which the majority party could expel any Member of Congress they deemed to have lied about any number of things – he won’t get as much leeway this time around.
Speaking with the media after the charges were filed, Speaker McCarthy said he wanted to review the charges before making any decisions on how Congress would proceed, while indicating that Santos would be expelled if his guilt in the crimes is apparent.
At the same time, McCarthy also made clear that he would not be supporting the Congressman in his reelection efforts and appeared to imply that he should focus his time on other matters.
“No, I’m not going to support him,” the Speaker of the House told CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju.
“Santos has a lot going on,” he added. “I think he has other things to focus on in his life other than running for reelection.”
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for George Santos, they do.
Before It’s Banned will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story – before it’s banned.
