Rep. George Santos (R-NY), whose victory was followed by revelations that he had falsified his biography on the campaign trail, surrendered at federal court on Long Island on Wednesday morning. Santos was charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, the New York Times reports. Santos, "who went from a symbol of Republican resurgence to a scandal-plagued political punching bag," has been besieged by questions about his background, his personal wealth and his campaign finances since last December, when news outlets began reporting on numerous lies about his biography, education and work history that he had told voters.
Subsequent reporting uncovered questions about how Santos handled the finances of an animal rescue charity he had claimed to operate before running for Congress and how he had mingled his personal business and political campaign. It also found irregularities in how his campaign spent and raised its funds. Santos critics in the New York GOP took the fresh opportunity to reiterate their insistence that he isn’t welcome in their ranks, Politico reports.. “These charges bring us one step closer to never having to talk about this lying loser ever again,” said first-term Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY). “Resign,” fellow New York Republican first-term Rep. Mike Lawler said. Republicans began turning against Santos after an avalanche of reports showed he had lied about his background, both on the campaign trail and before his run. Republicans don’t expect him to resign, rather to try using resignation as a bargaining chip in his federal case. Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been quiet, given that Santos’ vote is integral to his four-seat majority as he wages a fight with the Biden administration over the debt ceiling.
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