Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Guardian reports:
Federal prosecutors in New York have charged congressman George Santos, the embattled House Republican who has been under scrutiny for months by the Justice Department over questions surrounding his 2022 campaign and finance activities.
Santos is expected to turn himself in to authorities at the federal court in Brooklyn as soon as Wednesday morning, one of the people said. There, he will likely make an initial appearance at an arraignment, where the specific charges against him are expected to be released.
The news of the indictment appears to have come as a surprise to Santos, who was informed about the charges on Tuesday hours before they were widely reported, and neither a spokesperson in his congressional office nor his attorney responded to a request for comment.
Axios reports:
McCarthy said Tuesday that Santos is safe for now, but a conviction could change that: “Just like we had before with Jeff Fortenberry, he was found guilty and then I told him he needed to resign.”
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) became the latest to call for Santos’ resignation, telling Axios: “We are waiting to see the charges, but we all knew this was where things were heading. The sooner he leaves, the sooner we can win the seat with someone who isn’t a liar.”
Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) also told CNN: “I do believe that if a member of Congress is charged with a federal crime they should resign.”
UDPATE: Contrary to the Guardian report above, the arraignment will take place at Suffolk County’s courthouse in Islip.
Nancy Mace on George Santos: “He’ll be the reason that we lose that seat. We should really hold our own accountable and recruit someone who’s going to be better and can win that seat and keep it in Republican hands… I don’t want to see us continue to lose seats,” she told me
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 10, 2023
New York GOP Reps. Elise Stefanik and Claudia Tenney both wouldn’t call on Santos to resign.
Tenney: “Next time a Democrat gets indicted and not convicted, let’s see what they do.”— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 10, 2023
Representative George Santos, the New York Republican who fell under numerous investigations over his personal and campaign finances after his biography was found to be a web of lies and exaggerations, has been charged by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.https://t.co/ziS6qLltBk
— NYT Metro (@NYTMetro) May 9, 2023