BREAKING NEWS: Democrats File For George Santos Expulsion After Damning Ethics Report Is Released

Forbes Breaking News

House Democratic lawmakers call for the expulsion of Rep. George Santos (R-NY) after a damning ethics report on him is released.

Transcript

00:00 Okay, great, great.

00:05 Well thank you all for for joining us today.

00:08 Just just a few minutes ago we filed in the House floor an expulsion of George Santos

00:15 of Congressman Santos.

00:17 It's really important for us to recognize that George Santos is a fraud, a liar.

00:22 He has lied about the most horrific shooting in the in LGBTQ modern history, the Pulse

00:27 nightclub shooting.

00:28 He's lied about 9/11.

00:30 He's lied about the Holocaust.

00:31 He's lied about his education.

00:33 He's lied about his career.

00:35 And as we all know, just recently he's been now given classified access to important information

00:40 and classified information that he should not have.

00:43 There's been numerous Republicans that have called for his expulsion or resignation from

00:48 Congress.

00:49 I want to also note that today myself and the two other freshman members that are LGBTQ

00:57 congresswoman Becca Ballant, Congressman Eric Sorensen have been talking about this expulsion

01:03 resolution to get George Santos out of Congress.

01:06 In addition to that, two other members have been leading efforts to really take on George

01:12 Santos and of course that has been Congressman Dan Goldman, who's also a freshman, and Congressman

01:16 Richie Torres.

01:18 And they have been leading efforts as well with the House Ethics Committee.

01:20 And so those have been things been really, really important for us, particularly as freshmen

01:24 and their leadership.

01:26 And so again, we have filed an official expulsion resolution with the House Ethics Committee

01:30 to get rid of George Santos.

01:33 It is time for him to go.

01:34 We gave him plenty of time to resign and he has chosen not to do so.

01:37 So I want to first turn this over to Congresswoman Becca Ballant, who's going to say a few words

01:41 and then we're going to have a few folks also engage.

01:43 Thank you, Robert.

01:44 Really happy to be out here today to say that so many of us ran on a platform of shoring

01:52 up the democracy, of making it possible for Americans to believe in government again.

02:00 And right now, many of you know, we're at an all-time low of confidence in government.

02:04 Sixty years ago, 75 percent of Americans polled said that they had trust that the government

02:10 would most of the time take care of them, do right by them.

02:15 Right now, only two in ten Americans will say that.

02:18 Having George Santos in Congress with us is not at all helping us to rebuild trust in

02:24 government.

02:25 And as Robert said, as a proud member of the LGBTQ community, excuse me, the LGBTQ community

02:32 outraged that he lied about the Pulse nightclub shooting, as the granddaughter of someone

02:38 killed in the Holocaust, outraged that he used that to get elected.

02:43 And you know, I didn't ever say this, but I stand with Mitt Romney.

02:47 He has to go.

02:48 And Congressman Eric Schornson?

02:51 I stand here today to speak on behalf of those who are trustworthy in our government.

02:58 I was a kid growing up different in Rockford, Illinois, not thinking that anyone was going

03:03 to allow me, growing up gay, to be the meteorologist on my television in my hometown.

03:09 Not only did I get to do that, but over 20 years, I earned the trust of the people that

03:16 have sent me here to represent them.

03:19 I'm the very first LGBTQ member of Congress from the state of Illinois.

03:24 And it happened outside of Chicago.

03:26 But incredibly, I'm only here because the people have learned that they can trust me.

03:33 I'm not saying I got the weather right when I was on television every day, but the people

03:38 could trust me when they had to make life-saving decisions to take their families to the basement

03:42 because the tornado was real.

03:45 I stand here with other members of Congress who are trustworthy.

03:49 We're here to serve the constituents in our district.

03:53 We're here to serve the people of the United States of America.

03:58 And we need to make sure that everyone in this body, in this incredible body of the

04:02 House of Representatives, does the same.

04:05 And clearly, there's one of us that does not.

04:09 Congressman Dan Goldman?

04:10 Thank you, Congressman Garcia.

04:12 And thank you for filing this motion, this resolution, rather.

04:17 It is a shame that it has come to this.

04:20 It is a shame that the Speaker of the House, the Republican Conference Chairwoman, Elise

04:26 Stefanik, who was George Santos' biggest supporter during his campaign and helped him rehire

04:33 staff after many resigned because of his lies, it is a shame that they did not ask George

04:40 Santos to resign from Congress and instead thought that they could stem the wave of opposition

04:47 based on making him resign from his committees.

04:50 He should have resigned.

04:51 He should not be a member of Congress.

04:54 And we are left with no choice but to put a resolution on the House floor to expel him

05:01 from Congress.

05:02 He defrauded his voters.

05:05 He defrauded the state of New York.

05:07 He has used in the most shameless fashion his, the true monuments, or I should say the

05:18 true travesties of so many different communities, including the LGBT community and the Pulse

05:24 nightclub, including the Jewish community, by claiming falsely that he is Jewish in a

05:30 district that is more than 20 percent Jewish, and claiming that his ancestors escaped the

05:35 Holocaust.

05:37 This is not just a simple liar.

05:39 This is a conman who does not belong in Congress, and he needs to go.

05:44 So we will put this resolution on the floor, and we will have an up or down vote on whether

05:49 or not George Santos, a serial fraudster, belongs as a member of Congress.

05:57 Thank you.

05:58 Thank you.

05:59 Now I'd like to introduce Congressman Richard Torres.

06:01 You know, yesterday George Santos said that he refuses to go to the back of the room or

06:06 the back of the bus.

06:07 And, you know, it's plausible that Mr. Santos is so delusional that he's mistaking himself

06:11 for Rosa Parks.

06:12 But he is not a victim here.

06:14 We're the victim of his fraudulent behavior.

06:17 You know, Senator Mitt Romney spoke for the majority of Americans.

06:21 He spoke for both Democrats and Republicans when he referred to George Santos as a sick

06:26 man.

06:27 There is something sick about a man who lies about his mother dying on 9/11, who lies about

06:34 his employees dying in the Pulse mass shooting, who lies about his ancestors surviving the

06:38 Holocaust, who lies about struggling with brain cancer.

06:43 There's something sick about a man who not only lies pathologically, but violates almost

06:47 every law imaginable, House ethics, campaign finance law, securities law.

06:54 And so we're here to send a clear message that if Kevin McCarthy refuses to hold George

06:58 Santos accountable, we will.

07:01 We will hold George Santos accountable for conduct unbecoming of a congressman.

07:06 We are going to expel George Santos because he is a deep rot at the very core of the United

07:11 States Congress.

07:12 In a country of 330 million people, only 535 have the high honor of serving in the United

07:20 States Congress.

07:22 One of those people should not be George Santos, period.

07:25 Absolutely.

07:26 And just to conclude, we want to just also note that Congressman Torres, Congresswoman

07:31 Ballant, Congressman Sorensen, myself, we're all LGBTQ.

07:35 And George Santos, of course, is gay, we think.

07:40 And he has disgraced our community.

07:44 And what we hear within our community is a huge disgust and shame for his behavior and

07:51 his lies within our own community.

07:53 So it's important for us as gay people, as queer people.

07:56 Minus Dan Goldin.

07:57 Of course.

07:58 And an ally.

07:59 And an ally, with Mr. Goldman, to take on really this liar and this fraud.

08:05 And so this has already been filed today.

08:08 We look forward to working.

08:09 We've been talking, of course, to House Republicans.

08:12 We already know many of those who have already asked for his resignation.

08:16 And so we're going to get this onto the floor and we're going to expel George Santos.

08:19 So thank you very much.

08:20 Are there any quick questions?

08:21 Why not wait for an indictment or for ethics to bring charges?

08:24 Well, I think it's pretty clear, obviously, that he's violated campaign finance rules.

08:28 He's violated ethics rules.

08:30 He's practically admitted to them.

08:33 And he is lying about everything that we know him as a person.

08:35 And so it's pretty obvious that it's time to expel him.

08:38 But now he's had plenty of time to resign, and he's chosen not to.

08:40 Why not wait until you get Republicans to send him?

08:43 Well, I would just add one thing.

08:45 The law doesn't actually preclude him from lying about his education, his employment

08:52 history, his religion, any of the other, his qualifications for the job.

08:59 The law is very focused on financial disclosures and campaign finances.

09:05 And he should be held accountable because even his own statements have revealed that

09:11 his financial disclosures are false.

09:14 But we cannot wait for him to be indicted or for an ethics investigation, because those

09:21 things will not address the things that he has already admitted to lying about.

09:26 He is a serial liar who does not have the trust of his constituents, 78 percent of whom

09:32 have said that he should not be in Congress and should resign.

09:35 And he does not have any credibility to walk these halls of Congress.

09:39 He does not belong here.

09:41 And his own constituents, by the way, and Congressman Goldman and Congressman Torres

09:44 know this, they've called for his expulsion and resignation.

09:46 And so we've heard that from his constituents.

09:47 Have you spoken to any Republicans to get them on board with this resolution?

09:53 I mean, there's been obviously almost, I think, 10 Republicans that have called for

09:56 his resignation.

09:57 And so that's something that we're all going to be working on.

09:58 Also, the majority of House Republicans in New York have called for George Santos to

10:02 resign.

10:03 And Mr. Goldman and I just had a meeting with the governor, the New York delegation.

10:07 George Santos was not invited.

10:09 His colleagues want nothing to do with him.

10:10 His constituents want nothing to do with him.

10:12 He's persona non grata to every single Republican except the leadership that's protecting him.

10:16 That was a bipartisan delegation of New York Congress members.

10:20 And bottom line, he was elected under false pretenses.

10:25 We don't need to wait for an indictment.

10:27 Any other questions?

10:28 Are you just worried about any kind of precedents this might set in the future if Republicans

10:33 decide that a Democrat's a liar?

10:35 This is an unprecedented person.

10:37 I mean, there is nothing that we know about him that we know is truthful.

10:41 He's lied literally about his entire background.

10:42 And so I think this is an unprecedented moment.

10:45 And the House should come together to expel him.

10:46 We also do want to set a precedent for excluding a future George Santos.

10:49 That's the kind of precedent we want to set.

10:51 And I can guarantee that all five of us would be standing here.

10:55 We wouldn't need to be standing here if there was a Democrat who lied up and down like George

11:01 Santos did.

11:02 We as Democrats would never accept this within our own party.

11:06 And it's time for the Republican Party to do the right thing.

11:08 Absolutely.

11:09 Any other final questions?

11:12 I have not personally spoken directly to him.

11:14 I've passed him in the halls, but we have not checked it.

11:17 I look forward to talking to him.

11:18 I tell him to his face and he should be expelled.

11:22 He's attacked me on Twitter.

11:23 Yeah.

11:24 I think, what did he say?

11:25 Stop obsessing about me.

11:26 I'm married.

11:28 You know, I will admit that I'm fully obsessed with driving Mr. Santos out of Congress because

11:34 he has no business being here.

11:44 Yes, absolutely.

11:45 So we've been actually talking to the leader and he's aware of what's happening today.

11:49 You're not thinking it's 70 Republicans on it, are you?

11:52 I think we're going to work to get 70 Republicans.

11:54 We're going to work to expel them.

11:55 I think that's the goal.

11:56 But regardless of whether Republicans, the American people have a right to know where

12:00 each and every member of Congress stands with respect to George Santos.

12:04 It's one thing to condemn him behind the scenes.

12:06 It's something else to force a vote and see where everyone stands.

12:10 I think we need transparency.

12:11 Absolutely.

12:12 I think we need to restore the full faith and trust of the government that is representing

12:17 the people.

12:18 So we're going to vote on this regardless of the outcome.

12:22 Absolutely.

12:23 I think we should.

12:24 And we're going to demand a vote.

12:25 And I think at the end of the day, we want to know also where Kevin McCarthy stands.

12:27 I mean, clearly he's giving them access to classified briefings.

12:30 Unacceptable.

12:31 So it's time to expel George Santos.

12:33 One last thing that related to Kevin McCarthy and Elise Stefanik.

12:37 They have not asked him to resign.

12:40 Now, some people have said that's because they have such a narrow majority.

12:44 But there's been extensive reporting that they both were aware of George Santos's lies

12:49 during the campaign.

12:50 And the question then is, are they not asking him to resign because they are worried about

12:55 what their involvement was and that that might come out?

12:58 So that's an open question that has yet to be answered.

13:00 They have not addressed that.

13:02 And Kevin McCarthy forced him out of his committee.

13:05 We're just saying, why stop there?

13:06 We should force him out of Congress.

13:07 Absolutely.

13:08 Thank you.

13:09 Thank you very much.

13:10 Thank you.

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