Staff Reports
Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who has had a rough year full of scandals, has said he will hold a press conference after the House of Representatives returns from Thanksgiving break. After an ethics report said he may have mishandled campaign donations, Santos was under more and more pressure to resign. He called 2023 his "year from hell," citing votes to expel him, a federal indictment, and the latest report from the House Ethics Committee.
In a fiery and defiant post on social media, Santos promised to keep fighting. He called the ethics committee's actions unfair attempts to change public opinion and hurt his current investigation with the Department of Justice (DOJ). On November 30, at 8 a.m., Santos plans to talk to the press directly on the Capitol steps, which will add another layer of mystery to his story.
My year from Hell.
Running for office was never a dream or goal, but when the opportunity to do so came I felt the time to serve my country was now.
Looking back today I know one thing, politics is indeed dirty, dirty from the very bottom up. Consultants, operatives, the…
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) November 17, 2023
Even though the ethics report didn't say that Santos should be expelled, House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) quickly said that he was going to bring new articles that would do just that. Some House members decided earlier not to vote on removal until the ethics committee's report came out. This shows how divided the political community is over Santos's case, which means the drama is far from over.
According to the report from the House Ethics Committee, Santos did many bad things, such as using campaign funds for personal things, giving the Federal Election Commission fake or incomplete reports, and "knowingly and willfully violating" the Ethics in Government Act. Santos needs to explain things, and the people who vote for him want solutions.
Strangely, Santos also said that he won't run for a second term in Congress. He said that the attention from the media has been too much for his family and that's why he's not going to run. This sudden news shows how Santos's problems have affected the people who are close to him. Maybe a break from the public eye will give everyone a chance to think about what happened and heal.
