The palace of lies that George Santos had built over the years collapsed on him on Friday 1er December. The elected Republican from New York entered the political history of the United States in an inglorious way, becoming the sixth member of Congress to be expelled by his peers. Two-thirds of the votes were needed in the House of Representatives to validate a sanction as rare as it was dramatic. In an unusual bipartisan move, 206 Democrats and 105 Republicans decided to preserve some sort of basic level of decency required to represent the American people. The Trumpist far right came to the aid of George Santos.
Two previous attempts, in May and October, had failed, while revelations about the embezzlement and lies of the New York elected official had multiplied in the press since the start of the mandate. George Santos lied about his supposed Jewish origins, his diplomas, his imaginary professional experiences at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He hid his criminal record in Brazil. But the mythomaniac was also a crook.
This is the main lesson of a decisive report from the House Ethics Committee, published two weeks ago. This 56-page text, based in particular on bank documents, text messages and emails, is an informative complement to the parallel investigations of the justice system, which has already indicted the elected official for these facts. He reveals “a complex web of illegal activities”, linked to George Santos’ campaign accounts.
Santos exploited “every aspect of his candidacy”
Spa treatments, Botox injections, luxury stores, restaurants, private trips: the New York elected official spent his time using campaign donations for his own pleasure and interest. He also claimed that he advanced funds to his campaign team, which never existed, only to have them reimbursed later. “Representative Santos set out to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own financial gain”, summarized the ethics commission. The elected official refused to collaborate, in writing or orally, with the latter, thus aggravating his case.
Far from the financial ease he had displayed for years, George Santos was insolvent. It was all fabrications and illusions. Even members of his campaign team encouraged him, at the end of 2021, to give up all public life, as his past and his sulphurous activities risked coming to the surface. He persisted, managing to get elected after his second attempt. His false statements to the auditing authorities were subsequently easily exposed.
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