(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., presiding over an already fractious and razor-thin legislative majority, said that he would not be giving the boot to Rep. George Santos, the embattled New York Republican who was indicted Tuesday on federal charges.
While the indictment remains under seal and specific charges unknown, they could be for a wide range of possibilities given Santos’s track record. CNN, which broke the indictment news, reported that FBI and Justice Department “public integrity prosecutors in New York and Washington have been examining allegations of false statements in Santos’ campaign finance filings and other claims.”
Santos is expected to appear Wednesday at federal court in New York’s eastern district. The freshman lawmaker has been under investigation since before he was elected and accused of everything from orchestrating an immigration marriage scheme and playing drag queen to campaign finance violations, bouncing checks as part of a bogus puppy scam and spewing outrageous serial lies about his education, work history and personal life.
Santos reportedly could not be reached for comment by a variety of outlets, and was apparently caught off guard when first informed of the indictment.
Um, I think I just (accidentally) informed Rep. George Santos of reports that he has been charged by the Justice Department…
"That's news to me," he said a few minutes ago. "You're the first to call me about this."
— Farnoush Amiri (@FarnoushAmiri) May 9, 2023
When asked if he would be standing by Santos, McCarthy gave a carefully couched statement that said little, other than the speaker was willing to stop short of asking for a resignation.
“As you know, with George Santos, I did not put him on any committees,” McCarthy said, adding that it’s not uncommon for lawmakers to maintain their duties during legal proceedings. To that end, he referenced Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who stood trial after being indicted on federal corruption charges and was still able to vote.
“I believe he’s the chairman of a committee today,” McCarthy quipped. Menendez, who had his charges dropped after a jury failed to reach a verdict, currently chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Menendez, unlike Santos, is a Democrat, a fact not lost on a flood of political pundits who noted how quickly Biden’s Justice Department moved to indict the Republican representative, while stonewalling myriad investigations into the Biden family.
“Compare and contrast how quickly the corrupt and politicized Biden DOJ moved against Republican Rep. George Santos with its softball treatment of the Democratic Biden gang,” wrote Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton.
It took the DOJ a few weeks to charge Rep. George Santos (R) with crimes but investigations into Hunter Biden’s laptop are now in year 4 because the DOJ is simply the armed wing of the DNC.
— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) May 9, 2023
“In America, we’ll just follow the same pattern we always have,” McCarthy said of his plan moving forward with Santos. “If a person is indicted and they’re not on committees, they have the right to vote, but they have to go to trial.”
As a parallel example, McCarthy referenced former GOP Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who resigned after being convicted of campaign violations and other charges.
“Just like we had before with Jeff Fortenberry, he had the same ability, I removed him from committees, but he was found guilty and then I told him he needed to resign,” McCarthy said. “That is my policies and principles on this and I follow the same now.”
Question: Are you going to continue to stand by George Santos now that he’s been indicted and do you stand by Trump after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse? pic.twitter.com/rnXj55BwWR
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 9, 2023
