[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 878 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 878
Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the
United States House of Representatives.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 17, 2023
Mr. Guest submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Ethics
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the
United States House of Representatives.
Whereas Representative George Santos is a Member of the United States House of
Representatives;
Whereas soon after his election in November 2022, Representative Santos'
background came under public scrutiny;
Whereas, on February 28, 2023, the Committee on Ethics of the House unanimously
voted to impanel an Investigative Subcommittee (hereinafter in this
resolution referred to as the ``ISC'') to review whether Representative
Santos may have engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022
congressional campaign, failed to properly disclose required information
on statements filed with the House, violated Federal conflict of
interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary
services, and engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking
employment in his congressional office;
Whereas the ISC met nine times and, over the course of its investigation,
authorized 37 subpoenas and 43 voluntary requests for information (RFIs)
leading to its receipt of over 172,000 pages of documents, contacted or
interviewed over 40 witnesses, and reviewed materials received from the
Office of Congressional Ethics and relevant court records;
Whereas the ISC determined in its investigation that there was substantial
evidence of violations of Federal law, the Rules of the House, and other
applicable standards related to many of the allegations charged in the
indictment, and substantial evidence of additional unlawful and
unethical conduct not charged in the indictment;
Whereas these additional violations relate to falsely reported loans reportedly
received by his 2020 campaign and leadership political action committee,
GADS PAC, improper loan repayments to himself, systemic reporting errors
in his 2020 and 2022 campaign's Federal Election Commission filings, and
substantial evidence that campaign funds were converted to personal use;
Whereas the ISC also identified additional errors and omissions in his 2020 and
2022 Financial Disclosure Statements, as well as violations of Federal
law and the Rules of the House related to his unfiled 2021 and 2023
Financial Disclosure Statements, which were not charged in the
indictment;
Whereas the ISC also found that Representative Santos failed to meet his duty of
candor with respect to the ISC's investigation, and instead presented
the ISC with misrepresentations and delay tactics;
Whereas, on May 10, 2023, Representative Santos was charged in Federal court in
the Eastern District of New York with wire fraud in connection with a
fraudulent political contribution scheme, unlawful monetary transactions
in connection with the wire fraud allegations, theft of public money in
connection with his alleged receipt of unemployment benefits, fraudulent
application for and receipt of unemployment benefits, and false
statements in connection with his 2020 and 2022 House of Representatives
Financial Disclosure Statements;
Whereas Nancy Marks, who served as Treasurer to Representative Santos' campaign,
pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, falsifying records,
and identity theft in connection with the Santos campaign;
Whereas a superseding indictment was filed on October 10, 2023, charging
Representative Santos with additional violations related to his 2022
campaign, including allegations of falsifying Federal Election
Commission reports in connection with a $500,000 personal loan that was
never made, falsifying the names of contributors to his campaign,
engaging in aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, and
enriching himself through a fraudulent contribution scheme;
Whereas Sam Miele, who served as a fundraiser to Representative Santos'
campaign, pleaded guilty to a Federal wire fraud charge after
impersonating a senior congressional aide for the purposes of soliciting
funds;
Whereas the ISC that was established to review the allegations against
Representative Santos adopted a report of its findings and submitted the
report to the full committee;
Whereas the Committee on Ethics of the House unanimously voted to adopt the ISC
report based upon the investigation providing substantial evidence that
Representative Santos--
(1) knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete
reports with the Federal Election Commission, used campaign funds for
personal purposes, engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with
RedStone Strategies LLC, and engaged in knowing and willful violations of
the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to his Financial Disclosure
Statements filed with the House;
(2) was a knowing and active participant in the wrongdoing; and
(3) was given an opportunity, pursuant to Committee Rule 17(b), to
submit a signed written statement responding to the allegations raised in a
complaint filed by his fellow Members but did not do so;
Whereas the ISC--
(1) requested that Representative Santos provide all documents and
information responsive to its Request for Information, but he did not do
so;
(2) asked Representative Santos to voluntarily testify, but he did not
do so; and
(3) provided Representative Santos the opportunity, pursuant to
Committee Rule 19(b)(3), to provide a statement under oath, but he did not
do so;
Whereas as a Member of the United States House of Representatives,
Representative Santos must be held accountable to the highest standards
of conduct in order to safeguard the public's faith in this institution;
Whereas the Constitution of the United States charges the House with policing
the behavior of its own Members, and the House should take action
against Representative Santos commensurate with his violations of
Federal law and the Rules of the House; and
Whereas given his egregious violations, Representative George Santos is not fit
to serve as a Member of the United States House of Representatives: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That pursuant to article I, section 5, clause 2 of the
Constitution of the United States, Representative George Santos, be,
and he hereby is, expelled from the United States House of
Representatives.
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