George Santos unwittingly trolls former colleague on Cameo after House expulsion: Latest

John Bowden dives into the Ethics Committee’s final report, which was referred to the Justice Department and which marked the beginning of the end for Mr Santos’ political career.

Eric Garcia writes:

George Santos got what he wanted.

I first realised this about the now-expelled New York Republican during the speaker’s race in October, when he started shouting at a pro-Palestinian activist who had questioned him earlier. I had caught him coming out of the meeting room in the Longworth House Office Building and asked him about Jim Jordan when he caught the activist and shouted “you are human scum.”

Immediately, all of the reporters moved from covering the GOP disarray and zeroed in on him, effectively turning it into a reality show. And that’s how he wanted it. He got all of the Washington press corps, the House Republican conference and even some Democrats to play along with his charade as he distracted from his legal troubles.

That’s why the House vote to expel him will not deter him. He turned every attempt to shame him into an opportunity. Furthermore, Republicans in the House of Representatives have created an ecosystem that disincentivizes policymaking and instead elevates people who see Congress as a way to build their brand rather than make a difference.

And the press is just as guilty of giving him what he wants as anyone else.

Read on...

The expulsion of scandal-ridden freshman Congressman George Santos has lit the fuse of a mad dash to replace him, with Democrats eager to reclaim the seat the infamous fabulist nabbed in the 2022 midterms.

Mr Santos was ousted on Friday after more than two-thirds of the House voted to remove him from the chamber. He was booted after a litany of scandals and criminal charges, with the unravelling of his political career beginning before he even took office in January of this year.

The last Republican to represent the area was Rep Rick Lazio, who left Congress after losing the New York Senate election in 2000 to then-First Lady and subsequent Secretary of State and Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

So what happens next?

George Santos got the SNL cold open parody treatment on Saturday night with cast member Bowen Yang reviving his impression of the disgraced former congressman

“This entire country has been bullying me just because I’m a proud, gay thief,” Yang says at a mock press conference on the steps of the Capitol. “America hates to see a Latina queen winning.”

After the press conference, Yang waltzes over to a piano and begins singing in the style of Elton John, lamenting his time in Congress to the tune of “Candle in the Wind”.

Having said he would leave Congress “graciously” were he expelled, disgraced former congressman George Santos appears out for revenge against those lawmakers who supported his expulsion in Friday’s landslide vote.

After his exit from the Capitol on Friday afternoon there was silence from the ex-Republican congressman.

That is, until 11.35pm when he took to his personal account on X and wrote of his intention to file ethics complaints against four of his former colleagues. The Independent has contacted their offices for comment.

Read on...

You knew it was coming...

Deadline reports:

The meteoric political rise of George Santos and the web of fabulist tales it was built on are getting a movie treatment. HBO Films has optioned the rights to Mark Chiusano’s new book The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos, which was published on November 28, 2023.

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The film, now in development, is described as a forensic and darkly comic look at the crazy, unprecedented congressional race on Long Island that led to Santos being elected to Congress. It comes from Frank Rich, who executive produced HBO’s Emmy-winning Washington DC satire Veep as well as the network’s Emmy-winning drama Succession.

Written by Mike Makowsky, the film tells the story of a seemingly minor local race that wound up a battle for the soul of Long Island, and unexpectedly put the now disgraced congressman on the world stage.

Rich and Makowsky will executive produce, with Mr Chiusano is serving as a consulting producer.

A Republican congressman was caught on camera at a Washington DC holiday party on Thursday threatening a former staffer in an expletive-filled tirade.

Rep Brandon Williams, who represents part of upstate New York, was seen jabbing his finger at Michael Gordon, his former campaign manager, during the event at the International Spy Museum.

As Mr Gordon protests, Rep Williams shouts at him: “You f*** with my family, I’ll end every relationship you have.”

On Thursday afternoon, Olivia Beavers of Politico asked Mr Santos if he had been asked to appear on a reality TV show.

“Olivia, I’m not going to answer that,” he said.

Garrett Haake of NBC News noted that it was “not a no”.

The long-awaited House Ethics Committee investigation into George Santos landed hard – becoming the final nail in the coffin of the New York representative’s scandalous time on Capitol Hill.

The lengthy report from the committee published in early November stated that there was credible evidence to indicate that the Republican misused campaign funds for a wide range of personal expenses, committed fraud, and misled the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

It was a damning end to a months-long investigation which had, until then, been Mr Santos’s golden ticket to survive the repeated efforts by his fellow lawmakers — including Republicans from his own state — to kick him out of Congress.

His days were numbered and, on 1 December, Mr Santos was expelled from Congress in a historic vote.

House lawmakers voted 311 to 114 for his removal, with 105 Republicans joining with Democrats for his expulsion.

Lawmakers had tried to remove him just weeks before the report dropped – Mr Santos was saved that time by colleagues who did not wish to set a precedent of prejudging a member under investigation by the Ethics Committee. The New York congressman was already facing numerous felony charges in New York under indictment from the Justice Department.

Let’s dive into the Ethics Committee’s final report, which was referred to the Justice Department and which marked the beginning of the end for Mr Santos’ political career.

By state law, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has to announce a special election within ten days of the seat becoming vacant, with the election then being held within between 70 and 80 days – about two and a half months.

This means that following Mr Santos’s Friday ouster, his replacement will be chosen on or before 29 February 2024.

Here’s what you need to know: