Posted on 05/11/2023 7:38:36 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Yesterday we learned the details of the 13 criminal counts charged against NY Congressman George Santos. He wound up pleading not guilty to all of the charges and was eventually released from custody on $500,000 bail. Where Santos came up with the bail money remains a mystery, but he doesn’t appear to have fled the country. Or at least not yet. In a more normal world, you might expect Santos to resign in disgrace, but he made it clear that would not do so. He plans to fight the charges and continue showing up in Congress. Some analysts had expected Speaker Kevin McCarthy to finally move to eject him from the House after the arrest, but that’s apparently not going to happen either. McCarthy’s only comment on the situation thus far has been to say that Santos is “innocent until proven guilty.” (AP)
“Listen, George Santos should have resigned in December. George Santos should have resigned in January. George Santos should have resigned yesterday. And perhaps he’ll resign today. But sooner or later, whether he chooses to or not, both the truth and justice will be delivered to him,” said U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican representing parts of upstate New York.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was more circumspect, saying “I think in America, you’re innocent till proven guilty.”
Santos has faced criminal investigations before.
While George Santos remains an embarrassment to the entire Republican Party, McCarthy is approaching this in a practical (if awkward) manner for a couple of reasons. First of all, the GOP only holds a four-seat margin to hold on to the majority in the lower chamber. There are a couple of members of the Freedom Caucus that can’t be relied on for every vote and Santos has thus far played ball and voted with the team. That gives him a small amount of leverage, at least until he winds up being convicted, assuming that happens.
The timing is also important. Beyond a certain point, the seat would simply remain vacant until the next general election. But if Santos were ejected right now, there would need to be a special election. And it is far from certain if the GOP could hold the seat, particularly with the memory of Santos so fresh in the minds of the voters. Losing one vote because of an empty seat is bad enough. Handing another vote to the Democrats would be worse.
The optics of all of this are terrible, of course. As the situation stands, George Santos will be hanging around for quite a while, constantly being peppered with questions from the press and showing up in the news. It will likely take months for all of the pre-trial proceedings to play out. That time span could be shortened if Santos agrees to a plea deal at some point, but he clearly knows that if he pleads guilty, McCarthy will have no real choice but to expel him and the party will be over. But if the potential jail term is long enough and he’s offered a deal where he does little or no time behind bars, he may just take it.
If nothing else, Santos will continue to serve as a reminder that the press – particularly the local media – must do a better job chasing down the resumes of candidates and scrutinizing them more closely. George Santos flew under the radar over the course of two election cycles and no serious investigation into his resume and business dealings took place until after he was elected.
If Santos switched parties he could get off the hook free!
Democrats never leave their wounded on the battlefield.
He must have done SOMETHING that really pissed off the deep state/uniparty.
How did they come up with that kind of bail requirement?
does the repub party vet its candidates?
Adam Clayton Powell comes to mind.
One of the charges was that he showered with a young teenage girl - about 14 if I recall. That’s serious stuff.
Oops! Wrong person.
“George Santos remains an embarrassment to the entire Republican Party”
Biden is 100 times worse of a fabulist than Santo. But, the Democrat party is incapable of embarrassment.
Santos is an embarrassment-—NUT Menendez is NOT?????
The Dems cannot exist without a double standard.
does the repub party vet its candidates?
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Good question.... Is Santos really one of the DemRats who was let in to masquerade as a rino?
If they’re FINALLY going after lying, crooked politicians - let’s start at the top - Joseph Robbinette Biden Jr!
Why is no one pointing out the Dems that have done the same things with no consequences? AOC used campaign funds to pay her boyfriend, and lied about her past, the Somalian Muslim committed immigration fraud by marrying her brother, also has campaign fund violations, Dick Blumenthal is a notorious stolen Valor liar, Fauxcohontas lied about her race, 0bama accepted millions in illegal contributions. And it goes on and on. That the scumbag democrats would have no standards if not for double standards is now more obvious than ever.
Yes. He's unabashedly MAGA . He ran as MAGA. And he's performed so far, as MAGA.
I don't know anybody in this district who voted for Santos because of his resume (which turned out to be false).
I do know people who voted for Santos because he was MAGA.
Naahh...
He's simply the weakest one of four.
The Democrats are on the hunt for three more seats they can claw back to retake the House by any means necessary.
-PJ
They’ve weaponized all facets of the federal government. They’re prosecuting Santos because they can. No other reason needed. And they don’t plan on giving up their stranglehold of the executive branch anytime soon, if ever. So therefore, no reciprocity will happen. Banana republic times.
Conversely...does the democrat party vet theirs?
The difference between us and the RATs is that (most) of us want Santos gone, if he is guilty of serious infractions. The RATs will preserve their guy at any cost, with any lie.
I don’t want Santos gone, I am frankly SICK TO DEATH of taking the moral high ground the moral high ground is LOSING the nation!! We need to fight like rabid dogs the same way they do!!! Moral High Ground……SPIT!! This is WAR, we better start acting like it or get used to living in Venezuela!!!
Primary him out when the time comes, until then, he stays.
EXACTLY what should happen, I am glad Santos has the balls to say SCREW YOU to the Dem’s SCREAMING!!
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