Rep. Ted Lieu of California said Tuesday in a Democratic Party press conference that newly elected Rep. George Santos has participated in “highly illegal” activities and should be expelled from Congress.
Lieu made the comment in reference to reports of a Santos campaign staffer impersonating current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s chief of staff, Dan Meyer.
EMBATTLED REP.-ELECT SANTOS REFUSES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT RESUME LIES WHILE PROMISING TO SUPPORT MCCARTHY
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., are sworn in by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy of Calif., as members of the 118th Congress in Washington, early Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“It was also disclosed yesterday that when George Santos was fundraising, apparently his fundraising person was telling folks that he was actually McCarthy’s chief of staff,” Rep. Ted Lieu said at the press conference. “So if they were using the telephones — which I assume they were — that would essentially be conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
“So what George Santos did was not only unethical, it appears to be highly illegal,” Lieu continued. “And you have ethical investigations, but also you have what looks to me like criminal liability.”
GEORGE SANTOS WATCHDOG FEDERAL COMPLAINT ALLEGES HE HID SOURCE OF CAMPAIGN FUNDING USING ‘STRAW DONOR’ SCHEME
Rep. Ted W. Lieu, D-Calif., speaks during a press conference with incoming House Democratic Leadership at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 13, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
(Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
Lieu stated that he would like to see McCarthy weigh in on the allegations and put Santos up for expulsion from Congress.
A watchdog group filed a complaint Monday urging the Federal Election Commission to investigate Santos, alleging he hid the true source of his campaign funding.
NEW YORK REPUBLICANS SPEAK OUT AGAINST GEORGE SANTOS’ LIES, CALL FOR INVESTIGATION
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is seen on the House floor Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Campaign Legal Center, a non-profit watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., alleges in a federal complaint obtained by Fox News Digital that unknown individuals or corporations may have funneled money to Santos’s campaign through a supposed consulting business, Devolder, LLC.
Despite having just $55,000 to his name in 2020, Santos claimed to have earned millions of dollars in 2021 and 2022 from the consulting business he founded and purported to loan his campaign $705,000 during the election.
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Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., waits for the start of the 118th Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The allegations also include that Santos falsified 37 filings on expenditures just under the $200 threshold, which requires reporting of the date, amount and purpose of the expenditure.
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