The American Congress on Friday impeached Republican George Santos, an elected official who distinguished himself by his repeated lies and who is accused of financial crimes.
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The House of Representatives has so far used such a sanction only five times in its history.
After his election in November 2022, and following revelations from the New York Times, George Santos had to admit to having lied about entire parts of his life to embellish his CV.
He admitted to having never worked for the major American banks Goldman Sachs or Citigroup, and to not having a degree from New York University (NYU).
Also accused of having exaggerated reality by presenting himself as “an American proud to be Jewish”, or as the grandson of Holocaust survivors who fled Nazi barbarity, he refused to resign.
New York State elected official George Santos, 35, was also charged with defrauding his donors as well as money laundering and electronic fraud. He pleaded not guilty.
Getty Images via AFP
“I have accepted my destiny. If God’s will is to keep me here I will stay, if God’s will is for me to leave, I will leave,” he told Fox News on Friday morning.
On November 17, the chairman of the Ethics Committee of the Republican-majority House of Representatives, Michael Guest, filed a motion to exclude George Santos, deeming him “unworthy to serve as a member” of this institution.
Earlier this month, a previous motion to exclude was rejected because it did not receive the necessary two-thirds majority of votes from the representatives present.
But after the publication of a report from the House Ethics Committee accusing him of having “seriously discredited” the institution, many elected officials said they were ready to change their minds. About 100 Republicans and more than 200 Democrats voted Friday to oust him.
The last elected official from the House of Representatives excluded by his peers was Ohio Democrat James Traficant, ousted in 2002 on ten charges, including corruption. The following week, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
