BETHLEHEM, Pa. — After overseeing a nine-month investigation into U.S. Rep. George Santos, U.S. Rep. Susan Wild said she'll vote to expel the New York congressman if the motion reaches the House floor next week.
"Mr. Santos crossed the unethical line so, so, so many times and so flagrantly that there is no question for me he should not be in Congress," Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, said in an interview with LehighValleyNews.com earlier this week.
Wild, the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, was one of four lawmakers who oversaw the nonpartisan investigation into Santos, a freshman Republican representing portions of Long Island.
Last week, the Ethics Committee publicly released a bombshell report that found Santos fabricated much of his biography, blatantly stole from his own campaign, deceived his political donors and submitted false documents in a bid to hide his misdoings.
The findings
Investigators, who reviewed more than 172,000 pages of evidence, determined Santos committed a wide range of misconduct. Among their findings, they allege:
- Santos filed false campaign finance reports claiming he loaned his campaign nearly $800,000 during congressional campaigns in 2020 and 2022. Investigators determined $792,750 of these loans never existed. Instead, Santos used the false records to misrepresent his campaign's financial strength in order to secure funding from the Republican Party and donors. Santos was "reimbursed" more than $31,000 in 2020 for when in reality he only donated $3,500.
- Santos improperly used campaign funds for what appear to be personal expenses, including $1,000 to pay his rent; more than $2,200 over two days at Atlantic City resorts; and $1,400 for Botox treatment at a Long Island spa.
- Santos formed a company that his campaign and donors paid for digital consulting and fundraising. At least $50,000 intended for campaign services was instead transferred to Santos' personal bank accounts. The money was used to pay off personal credit card bills and make purchases from Only Fans, Sephora and Hermes.
While media reports of Santos' alleged misconduct have followed Santos since his November 2022 election, Wild said she was still shocked by the briefings she and other members of the House Ethics Committee received as the Santos investigation progressed.
"This was just repeated, flagrant, outrageous expenditures of campaign funds from donors on personal expenses," she said.
"This was just repeated, flagrant, outrageous expenditures of campaign funds from donors on personal expenses."U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley
The findings come on top of 23 federal charges filed out of the Eastern District of New York, including wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering. The Ethics Commission forwarded its report to the Department of Justice. Some of their findings broke new ground and could result in additional charges against Santos, Wild said.
Santos has pleaded not guilty to those charges. His former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, has pleaded guilty to filing false campaign finance reports and has named Santos as a co-conspirator in her crimes.
After the Ethics Committee released its report, Santos announced he will not seek re-election in 2024. But, there's a possibility he won't get to complete his term. U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss. and chair of the Ethics Committee, has filed a motion to expel Santos from Congress. The motion could come up to a vote as soon as next week. Two-thirds of U.S representatives would need to vote yes to expel Santos, representing a high bar for an unusually divided House.
It's extremely rare for members of Congress to expel one of their own. Representatives and senators have only kicked out 20 of their peers in American history, and 17 of those came during the opening years of the Civil War. But Wild said Santos' misdeeds merit immediate action. Santos has used his office and campaign to swindle people out of money, she said, and Congress cannot sit by and wait for his case to reach a federal jury next year.
"Our concern was that this would extend through this entire term of Congress and potentially into the next with another campaign season and election with the opportunity for Mr. Santos to do more harm," Wild said.
Earlier this month, other New York Republicans instigated an expulsion vote against Santos, but he kept his seat by a 179-213 margin. In that vote, Wild voted "present," saying it would have been improper for her to weigh in when her committee's investigation was not yet complete. Several other lawmakers who voted present or against expulsion have since flipped, saying they would vote to expel Santos now that the Ethics Committee's report is public.
"Our concern was that this would extend through this entire term of Congress and potentially into the next with another campaign season and election with the opportunity for Mr. Santos to do more harm."U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley
Wild, who briefly served as chair of the Ethics Committee at the end of last year, said the committee has demanded the most time of her committee assignments but said she values the work. The committee is uniquely bipartisan — it has only 10 members, five of each party.
"I enjoy the chance to work with my friends across the aisle on a committee where you have to achieve consensus to get anything done," Wild said.
Members of Congress expelled for reasons not related to the Civil War
Sen. William Blount, Democratic-Republican from Tennessee, 1797 — President John Adams' administration uncovered a British plot to seize control of the Spanish colonies of Louisiana and the Floridas. Blount, a signer of the Constitution, had lost a fortune in land speculation and conspired with the British to open the land to settlement, which would reverse his financial misfortunes. The Spanish were an American ally, and Blount was expelled on grounds of treason.
Rep. Michael "Ozzie" Myers, D-Pa., 1980 — FBI agents posing as representatives of Arab sheiks conducted a lengthy undercover sting operation, which later became known as the ABSCAM scandal. Myers was recorded accepting an envelope of $50,000 in return for helping a fictitious sheik immigrate to the United States. Myers was expelled from the House and was convicted of bribery and conspiracy a year later. He served a little over a year in federal prison, but is currently serving another federal sentence at age 80 for stuffing ballots in Philadelphia.
Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, 2002 — A federal jury convicted Traficant of 10 counts, including charges of bribery, filing false tax returns and forcing his congressional staff to pay him kickbacks. When he refused to resign, the House voted 420 to 1 to expel him. Traficant, who was known for his flamboyant behavior and inserting the phrase "Beam me up!" into speeches on the House floor, served seven years in federal prison.
