George Santos Expulsion (from a high schoolers point of view)

Please note that this article is intended to provide factual coverage of events and is NOT intended to express political opinion. Any and all opinions that may be implied do not represent the official stances of the Poudre Press, Poudre School District, or Poudre High School.

George Santos has recently been kicked out of congress in a vote, According to the New York Times, over half of the G.O.P House delegation voted for Mr. Santos to be removed from  his position. George Santos who is known for his republican congressman post was removed on Friday December 1st, this has marked an important moment in American history because George Santos was the 6th person ever to be expelled from the house. 3 of the prior people to be expelled from the house were confederates. George stands out in this case mainly because he is the first person ever in American History to be expelled while not having committed a crime or a  felony.  

Mike Johnson a speaker of Louisiana announced the tally to a hushed chamber, the vote required a ⅔ majority of the vote to ensure the expulsion. 

“The New number of the house is 434.”  

Because of this the explosion that was Mr Santos will result in one of the most exceedingly mainstream odysseys of all time. Mr Santos was expelled on Friday, this of course was after republicans and democrats alike offered expulsion resolutions. Mr Santos departed from court before it had ended telling the press that he was “ready to turn the page on congress” (New York Times) also later saying according to the New York Times “Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place.” 

While Santos was able to avoid being expelled two prior times beforehand this time what was left of his defense was lost when several republicans spoke of what was meant to be the core of his defense. However substantial evidence was found and he was expelled before he could even be convicted or seen as at fault by the house ethics committee. However there was a56 page report that was released last month. Investigators have found “Substantial evidence” that a former congressman has committed a crime against federal law. 

Things later went in a different direction when Santos declared that he would not be looking to run again for election. As soon as this occurred politicians attempted to have him condemned.This would include republican chairman of the house of ethics committee and Michael the guest of Mississippi. Michael opposed him so that Santos would be removed from office for good, offering full testimony in a debate on Thursday.  This debate attempted to bring to light the unprofessional and unjust scandals that involved santos. Santos used his campaign funds to invest in Botox treatments which had been revoked several times. However his detractors proposed he invented ties to the Holocaust as well as another take where he stated that his Mother was located at the world trade center on September 11, 2001. 

According to the New York Times, Representative Anthony D’Esposito of New York stated “George Santos is a liar — in fact, he has admitted to many of them — who has used his position of public trust to personally benefit himself from Day 1.” Anthony was at one point one of George Santos closest congressional neighbors.  

George Santoses leaving will have a large effect on the rest of the Republican conference. Causing the republican majority to decrease to an even smaller amount. Government Kathy  Hochul will have 10 days to declare when the election will be for a new candidate in order to fill George Santos' position. However the election will have to be approximately between 70 and 80 days after the date of the expulsion.  

George Santos has said that he graduated from Baruch College in the heart of New York CIty, where he was a Volleyball player and was on a championship team. Santos made several claims that were found out to be not true at all. He said that he was a descendant of holocaust refugees, that his mother was in the world trade center during the attacks on September 11. He also stated that he had lost 4 of his employees in the Orlando shooting. However none of these claims turned out to be true.  

What makes George Santos truly unique is that he is only the 6th person ever in the history of the United states to ever be expelled from congress and be prosecuted.2 of these representatives were expelled in 1861 on charges of treason after the civil war. These 2 people were confederate soldiers who tried to succeed from the union. While 3 others were convicted  before being expelled in court. One of them Michael Myers in 1980, for being convicted of bribery and was involved in the Abscam scandal. James Travicant who was convicted in 2002 for bribery, bracketeering , and tax evasion. 

Santos is still required to  comply with the federal indictment, in this case several prosecutors have accused him of Multiple schemes and unjustified actions.

In May of 2023 he was charged with wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, stealing public funds, as well as not telling the truth when filling out federal disclosure forms. Several charges were added on later in October in which prosecutors charged Santos with falsifying a 500,000 dollar sum of money that he borrowed for a campaign loan. Accusing him of using the money and transferring it for his personal use into his own personal bank account. However he told several other lies during these interviews that caused his reputation to downsize making him seem like a fraudster. Most of the backlash that is going out against Santos is the sum of money that he supposedly has. leant to his campaign in 2022.  

According to the New York Times, George Santos when he was first elected in 2020. Filed a disclosure to the house where he implied that he was making approximately 55,000 dollars a year, however two years later he claimed to be making 75000 dollars a year that was coming from his own firm, otherwise known as the Devolder organization. Santos also claimed that the firm obtained dividends between 1 million dollars and 5 million dollars. Saying he has accumulated millions of dollars in savings and that he created a checking account that withheld approximately between 100,000 and 250,000. 

When investigators looked into these claims it was later discovered that these claims were in fact fraudulent. House ethics investigators detailed how Mr Santos used his money which he obtained from donors in order to promote and fuel his way of living. This includes several investments in Luxury hotels, Botox treatment, designer clothes, and OnlyFans.Ethics investigators later declared that there was evidence Santos had fraudulently paid himself back for loans that were never made in the first place. It was during his unsuccessful 2020 campaign  that he acquired a profit of 27,000 dollars according to the New York Times. 

In an Interview posted by Ian Shwartz between George Santos and Marcia Kramer they talk about the situation from george Santos’s point of view. George Santos explains that while he may have left congress he hasn’t left the public arena. 

When asked “How do you feel about the expulsion?”

Mr Santos replied “I didn’t think that it was going to happen, last week just was not real, but im ok.” 

“I’m so proud of the legacy I made even in the short 11 month term I served.” when asked what regrets that Mr. Santos had about his time as a congressman he had this to say. 

“Regrets plenty, there's always regrets right, ummm regrets of people I got involved with throughout the campaign, regrets from people who put me in a bad position and obviously now I have a long road of redemption ahead.” 

When asked “What does redemption look like?” 

George Santos replies “redemption means really acknowledging every mistake that's been made and really going through the process of putting your head down and accepting it and rebuilding a reputation and trust and that’s important.” 

“You think you can do that?” Said Marcia a spokesperson for “The Point” 

“Absolutely, I think America is a very forgiving country and I’m going to work hard for that forgiveness.” 

“Do you think getting expelled would be inevitable?”  

“I didn't think it was gonna happen, I didn't have expectations. But I didn't think that my colleagues would have the courage or hootspa to go ahead and create a new president. That's what they did, I join the ranks of confederate generals now.” 

When asked to explain how he looked at this, George Santos responded, saying he thought of this as a “badge of honor” because the people that he worked with previously in congress decided to “Take me and strip me of my due process.” -Santos said during the interview that this was a predetermined outcome. 

“They expelled you before you were convicted?” 

“They expelled me before I was given an opportunity to defend myself, I tried to redeem myself and I did it by doing good work. I left congress and I can tell you with both feet on the ground before I left we were able to submit our nominations for military academies and I got 6 kids into schools” Later explaining that they were able to do the work and not necessarily be able to get away with the false truths but were able to counter everything that he had had shortcomings with and be able to put “really good work forward.” 

Please note that this article is intended to provide factual coverage of events and is NOT intended to express political opinion. Any and all opinions that may be implied do not represent the official stances of the Poudre Press, Poudre School District, or Poudre High School.

Works Cited:

“Breaking down the Federal Charges in George Santos Indictment.” YouTube, YouTube, 10 May 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=MjhrdmVGcrg.

Former Rep. George Santos: I Didn’t Think That My Colleagues Had The ..., www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/12/10/former_rep_george_santos_i_didnt_think_that_my_colleagues_the_chutzpah_to_expel_me_from_congress.html. Accessed 17 Dec. 2023. 

\Gold, Michael, and Grace Ashford. “George Santos Is Kicked out of Congress in a Historic Vote.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Dec. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/nyregion/santos-expulsion-vote-congress.html.  

“Read the House Ethics Committee Report on George Santos.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Nov. 2023, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/30/nyregion/george-santos-house-ethics-report.htm

My name is Andrew Sheneman, I am a Senior student at Poudre High School. I am involved with the Poudre Press here and it is my first year. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and I’m excited to contribute to the Poudre Press and take my writing a step further!