George Santos Seems to be a Thin-Skinned Liar -- That Doesn't Mean He Should've Been Expelled from the House
If you pay any modicum of attention to politics, you’ve no doubt heard about the historic ouster of now-former GOP New York Rep. George Santos from the House of Representatives.
In a shocking Friday development, Santos was voted out of his role as the representative of New York’s 3rd congressional district by a floor vote of his peers.
The embattled 35-year-old stands accused of a number of crimes after a scathing report from the House Ethics Committee.
That blistering report accused him of a “complex web of unlawful activity involving Representative Santos’ campaign, personal, and business finances.”
Those allegations include some genuinely damning accusations, like the claim that Santos used campaign funds for vacations, botox treatment, and, perhaps most alarmingly, at the OnlyFans website. He stands accused of a number of other similar crimes, where he is alleged to have been misappropriating and/or stealing funds.
It doesn’t help Santos’ case that he seems like a genuine malcontent who is factually challenged, given his past debunked claims about connections to the Holocaust and the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.
Given all that, it was still a seismic moment in U.S. politics when Santos became the sixth individual and the first Republican removed from his position, The vote was 311-114 on the House floor.
In related news, that means 311 members of the House apparently have no clue how the U.S. justice system works — a somewhat alarming development for American lawmakers.
Because Santos’ ouster was also historic in the sense that he is the first member of Congress to be voted out by his peers despite not actually being convicted of a single thing.
As damning as that ethics report is, as it stands, it’s full of nothing but allegations and accusations.
Look, this is not a defense of Santos’ purported actions in any way, shape, or form. Using campaign funds on OnlyFans accounts is unacceptable. Period.
It’s also not meant to be a defense of Santos’ character — by every indication, the man genuinely seems like a thin-skinned punk more prone to having a temper tantrum than passing legislation.
“As one member said to me: He is a disgusting human being, and he shouldn’t be here,” an unnamed House Republican told Axios.
Even given all of that: What laws has this man actually been convicted of breaking? None.
Allegations of impropriety and being “a disgusting human being” are not illegal. If it were, there wouldn’t be a single un-jailed politician.
And in this country, you are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.
Obviously, if Santos is found guilty on any number of these charges, sure. Let the door hit him on his way out.
But he has not been found guilty of a thing yet.
American politics have hit this genuinely terrifying slippery slope thanks to what the House has introduced.
In essence, it is now established precedent in the House of Representatives that you can be removed from your post based on nothing more than accusations.
(Related: How awkward will it be if Santos is ultimately found innocent of these charges? Whoops…)
And again, this decision was made by greater than two-thirds of the House of Representatives, which was the threshold needed to oust Santos.
If the House of Representatives is actually full of this sort of emotional bloodlust (all across both political parties), America may be in more dire straits than even the most pessimistic patriots may have thought.
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