CBC Editorial: Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023; editorial #8820
The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company
George Santos, whoever he really is, has no place serving in the United State House of Representatives.
Taxpayers should not be forced to pay the salary and expenses of someone who cannot honestly represent himself much less his constituents of Nassau County on Long Island or the American people.
The fabrications of his make-believe resume simply aren’t dishonest, they are offensive. If the other members of the U.S. House have any conscience and ethical standards, they will have him removed.
While it initially seemed Santos’ fabrications were post-election revelations, there are reports that a
2021 pre-election background check revealed a “pattern of deception that cut to the heart of the image he had cultivated as a wealthy financier.” Further, that report -- which disclosed the fake college degrees, participation with a company accused of a Ponzi scheme and more -- was viewed by key GOP campaign operatives and after seeing it some of Santos’ campaign team quit.
Santos is “a bad guy “and added “it’s pretty despicable the lies that he tells,”
said Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky who chairs the House Oversight Committee, during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “
State of the Union.”
But simply being a bad guy who lied about his life and jobs isn’t enough to keep him from being a member of the U.S. House. "It's not up to me or any other member of Congress to determine whether he can be kicked out for lying. Now, if he broke campaign finance laws, then he will be removed from Congress," he said.
“The voters of his district have elected him. He is seated. He is part of the Republican conference,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
told reporters last week.
That stands in stark contrast to Republicans in Santos’ district. The Nassau County Republican Party – the largest portion of his congressional district – has called on Santos to resign. The New York state Republican Party chairman has called on him to resign. “It's clear that he cannot be an effective representative and it would be in the best interest of the taxpayers to have new leadership,"
said Nick Langworthy, state GOP chair.
All the other newly elected Republican members of the House from New York have called on him to resign. The
Nassau County District Attorney’s office has announced it is looking into “the numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated” with Santos. District Attorney Anne Donnelly – who is a Republican – said the people in his congressional district “must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress.” She added: “If a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it.”
And there apparently ARE the campaign finance irregularities. The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center has
filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission contending Santos’s campaign received illegal donations funneled from individuals and corporations. A Democratic campaign finance reform group filed complaints with the Office of Congressional Ethics, the Justice Department and the FEC contending Santos failed to disclose important information about assets on financial disclosure statements.
Passing it all off -- as too many congressional Republicans are doing -- as a matter between Santos and the people who elected him is a disingenuous dodge.
Is Santos the kind of Republican North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson who now leads the National Republican Congressional Committee – the political committee that works to elect Republicans to the U.S. House – wants to hold up as an example of what the party has to offer?
Hudson knows the answer to that question – absolutely not. So he and his fellow Republicans in the U.S. House need to be doing all they can to get him out.
Santos demeans Congress and the nation every day he remains in office.
The people of his congressional district, the U.S. House and our country deserve better and shouldn’t have to tolerate his abusive presence.
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