In what may have been his last congressional press conference, the lying Long Island Republican on Thursday urged his fellow lawmakers to reject the precedent that would be set by “bullying” him from office via an expulsion vote — before introducing his own resolution to remove Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for falsely pulling a fire alarm two months ago.
Hours later, Santos took to the House floor to claim he was the victim of a “smear campaign to destroy me.”
“It’s just an unfortunate circumstance that I have to sit here and watch … Congress waste the American people’s time over and over again on something that is the power of the people,” Santos, 35, told reporters during a chilly, early morning availability outside the Capitol.
“They are trying to join me to the group of three Confederates and two people convicted in a court of law,” he said of the effort to oust him, referring to the five previous expulsions from the House.
Rep. George Santos (R-NY), in potentially his last congressional press conference, urged House lawmakers to consider the precedent set by “bullying” him from office with an expulsion vote. AFP via Getty Images
The Long Island congressman said he was going to introduce his own resolution to remove Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for falsely pulling a fire alarm two months ago. ZUMAPRESS.com“So if I am to get expelled tomorrow, I will be number six in the history — the first Republican and the only one without a conviction or without having committed treason,” Santos added.
When asked why he has not resigned, Santos shot back: “Because if I leave, they win. If I leave, the bullies take place — this is bullying.”
“Now had that been any other person, had it been one of the members of the media, had it been a Republican member of Congress, we all know that that person would have been charged with obstructing a congressional hearing,” he went on in reference to Bowman.
When asked why he has not resigned, Santos shot back: “Because if I leave, they win. If I leave, the bullies take place — this is bullying.” AFP via Getty Images“Just like the somewhat 140 people sitting in prison right now because of Jan. 6, but Jamaal Bowman gets a pass.”
Santos said his proposed Bowman expulsion was intended to “keep the playing field even.” The House currently has its full complement of 435 lawmakers — 222 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Santos’ ouster would reduce the thin GOP advantage by one.
In a statement, Bowman responded: “No one in Congress, or anywhere in America, takes soon-to-be former Congressman George Santos seriously. This is just another meaningless stunt in his long history of cons, antics, and outright fraud.”
The lying Long Island congressman, who fabricated details about his personal and professional history while running for Congress in 2022, said the move to expel him “will haunt” the House. Getty ImagesSantos, who fabricated details about his personal and professional history while running for Congress in 2022, said the move to expel him “will haunt” future House lawmakers, letting “mere allegations [be] sufficient to have members removed from office when duly elected by their people in their respective states and districts.”
Santos also dismissed a House Ethics Committee investigation of him as a “slanderous report” after it revealed new campaign finance violations not already contained in his 23-count indictment from the Eastern District of New York.
“No decent cop would bring this to a prosecutor or a DA and say, ‘Here’s our report. Go ahead and charge him,’” he huffed.
“This is what the Ethics Committee put out,” he added. “God bless them and what they think they’re doing and what their work is. You know, I believe they do good work when it’s relevant, but this ain’t it.”
In the afternoon, Santos reiterated his complaints about the expulsion proceedings, asking: “On what basis does this body feel that precedent has to be changed for me?”
Turning to the Ethics Committee findings, Santos asked if the panel had meant to “deliver a predetermined outcome sought out by some members of our conference? Or some members of this body? This is what it looks like to me.”
Several big-name Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Clay Higgins of Lousiana, sat with the Long Island lawmaker inside the chamber in a display of solidarity, with Higgins even offering Santos a fist bump.
Gaetz, who led the charge in ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, told his colleagues that he was not speaking in defense of Santos, but to defend precedent, pointing out that the freshman lawmaker has not been convicted of a crime.
“Whatever Mr. Santos did with Botox or OnlyFans is less concerning to me than the indictment against Senator [Bob] Menendez [of New Jersey], who is holding gold bars inscribed with Arabic on them from Egypt while he’s still getting classified briefings today,” Gaetz said.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) reiterated Gaetz’s concern about setting an inadequate precedent, though the Texan initially mistakenly referred to Santos as Democratic megadonor George Soros.
“In this country, I thought everyone was presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” Nehls said.
Santos announced after his ethics investigation that he would not seek re-election in 2024, but has refused to resign from office. Getty ImagesIn response, Santos’ fellow Long Island Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) argued setting a new precedent for ethics expulsions would uplift Congress and prevent bad actors from having a hand in government.
“If we have an opportunity in this great institution to start a new precedent that means we hold members of the House of Representatives to a higher standard, ladies and gentlemen, I’m pretty confident that the American people would applaud that,” he said.
Another New York Republican, Marc Molinaro, slammed Santos as being “divorced from reality.”
Santos nevertheless expects that he will be removed on Friday. Getty ImagesIn response to the attacks on the ethics committee, Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) defended the panel’s work.
“As the Ethics Committee’s report lays out in thorough detail, Mr. Santos has repeatedly, egregiously and brazenly violated the public’s trust,” said Wild. “Mr. Santos is not a victim. He is a perpetrator of a massive fraud on his constituents and the American people.”
In a statement before the report was released, the House panel announced it had “contacted approximately 40 witnesses, reviewed more than 170,000 pages of documents, and authorized 37 subpoenas” for the probe.
The sweeping investigation revealed Santos had spent campaign funds on lavish trips, spa treatments, Botox and OnlyFans subscriptions, in addition to having falsified loans and omitted line items from federal campaign filings.
Santos mentioned during the press conference that fellow New York GOP Rep. Nick LaLota “said he has 150 [Republican] votes.” APSantos told reporters he had cooperated with the investigation and provided most of the documents requested through his legal counsel.
The same committee voted last week against opening an investigation into Bowman for falsely pulling a fire alarm in a House office building while the lower chamber was preparing to vote on a bill to avert a partial government shutdown Sept. 30.
The “Squad” member pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor last month and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine for the incident. As part of an agreement with DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, Bowman’s charges will be dismissed after three months.
Two-thirds of House members must vote to remove Santos, meaning just around 80 Republicans would need to join all Democrats to seal the ouster. Rod Lamkey – CNPSantos announced after his ethics investigation that he would not seek re-election in 2024, but has refused to resign from office.
He nevertheless expects that he will be removed on Friday, mentioning during the press conference that fellow New York GOP Rep. Nick LaLota “said he has 150 [Republican] votes.”
Two-thirds of House members must vote to remove Santos, meaning around 80 Republicans would need to join all Democrats to seal the ouster.







