Global Courant 2023-05-18 03:22:14
Photo illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Reuters
Republicans say they are simply following “due process”. Democrats say they are trying to do right by voters and Congress. And all the while, while the two sides bicker, the indicted Rep. George Santos (R-NY) to remain in Congress.
After Republicans turned a long-drawn-out motion to kick Santos out of Congress into a vote to take the matter to the Ethics Committee, Democrats were quick to cry, complaining that Republicans were simply using “due process” as an excuse to keep Santos inside. Congress indefinitely.
The House voted 221-204-7 along party lines on Wednesday, with seven Democrats present, on a procedural motion to refer the issue of Santos’ expulsion to the Ethics Committee. That decision allows Santos to continue serving while a slow judicial process takes place, and it gives the Republicans the cover that they did not want to remove Santos. (They didn’t vote not to remove Santos; they just voted to refer the matter to the ethics committee.)
Republicans said they wanted to wait until House Ethics enacted some recommended sanctions, or until Santos was formally convicted after his indictment of 13 federal charges last week, to actually remove Santos from Congress. But as the Democrats pointed out, all the Republicans were really doing was buying Santos — and themselves — for some time.
Staffer George Santos faces disciplinary action for threatening sexual remarks to reporter
Ethics investigations are slow. Prosecutions for criminal misconduct may be even slower. And the Justice Department generally asks House Ethics not to investigate anything they’re also investigating.
By delaying an expulsion of Santos, Republicans can prevent their small majority from getting even slimmer, especially ahead of critical votes on the debt limit and the federal budget. If he was evicted or resigned, it would trigger a special election in his swing district, which went to President Joe Biden in 2020.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (RC) has urged House Ethics to act “quickly.” And he has insisted that the commission proceed even if DOJ objects.
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Still, not all of its members think it’s that simple.
“Does ethics ever work fast? It’s kind of hard to say,” said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) on Wednesday. “I will vote to refer it to ethics, that is the right move. In the past, we have expelled members upon conviction. I’ve done a little bit of research on the history and precedent and that’s how we’ve done it in the past… but I’ll say this: George Santos should resign. Period of time.”
Santos has another year and a half in office, during which he will live on a taxpayer-funded salary, receive the benefits of personnel and resources given to members of Congress, and be the voice representing his hundreds of thousands of representatives. components. He is also running for re-election and has shown no willingness to step down.
Still, all House Republicans present voted on Wednesday to send the referendum to the Ethics Committee. Democrats voted against, except for seven Democrats who voted present, most of whom served on the ethics committee themselves. (It’s highly unusual for House Ethics members to vote on a referendum to join them — and the support from House Republicans raised eyebrows.)
Three members – two Democrats and one Republican – simply did not vote.
A number of Republicans in the House have called for Santos to resign. But it seems that outright expelling him is a different story — as even those anti-Santos Republicans were in line with the McCarthy plan on Wednesday.
Some Republicans have justified their opposition to eviction by insisting that it is a political move by the Democrats — and that eviction has historically been reserved for members who have already been convicted.
Democrats say it’s a matter of not kicking the can on the road — and getting Santos out as quickly as possible.
“Republicans in the House now have an opportunity to stand with the American public and their constituents or stand with someone who has been indicted on 13 counts,” said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), who passed the resolution. introduced, during a press conference Wednesday morning. “We also understand that eviction is serious.”
Another frequent critic of Santosfreshman Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), stressed that criminal justice standards should not be the norm for serving in Congress.
Indictment highlights one of George Santos’ greatest hypocrites
“We shouldn’t be in a body where criminal justice concepts of due process determine whether someone belongs here or not,” Goldman said. “The measure of whether someone deserves to be a member of Congress is not just whether he or she is a criminal or not.”
In the past, the bar was set high for expelling a congressman, a bar that even Santos hasn’t quite reached yet. The last eviction took place two decades ago after Rep. Jim Traficant (D-OH) was convicted of bribery, tax evasion and extortion. Before that it was Rep. Michael Myers (D-PA), who was evicted after being convicted of bribery. Before that, it was the 1800s, when more than a dozen members were convicted of supporting the confederacy.
But the amount of evidence against Santos for so many different wrongdoings is staggering, to say the least.
Santos has already admitted to some of his “embellishments,” acknowledging in January that he spruced up his resume for the sake of eligibility. But in many of the reports that have come out since then, he firmly denies any wrongdoing stealing puppies from an Amish dog breederto numerous questionable $199 campaign finance applicationsto its huge campaign loans are probably not legal.
For an actual eviction vote to pass, all Democrats and 77 Republicans would have to vote in favor of the measure, which was always unlikely. A vote to refer the issue to House Ethics requires only a simple majority — and it saved Republicans from actively voting to save Santos.
To be sure, there’s also an obvious political motivation for Democrats in the eviction vote: On top of potentially removing a Republican vote, it was an opportunity to put Republicans on the plate to protect the scandal-ridden member.
As of Wednesday, the Democrats’ House Majority Forward had already begun making robocalls in districts held by vulnerable House Republicans, encouraging voters to pressure their members to support the eviction, according to Axios.
Meanwhile, Santos seems to downright enjoy the attention. He changed his Twitter profile picture to one of him leaving the courthouse surrounded by reporters last week.
On the House floor Wednesday night, Santos also, in fact, supported postponing a vote on his eviction. He told reporters on the steps of the Capitol as he left that he believes he has a “constitutional right” to defend himself.
When asked by The Daily Beast if he was willing to heed an ethics committee recommendation to resign, Santos said, “Sure, I mean, I’m not committing myself here.” If the ethics committee makes that recommendation, it’s a different story.”
Santos says he has cooperated with the ethics committee, but has not yet appeared before them.
Santos eventually cut from the group when two of his New York colleagues – Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) – started bother him.
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