George Santos told House Republicans he would decline to serve on the committee
Washington (WABC) — Rep. George Santos told House Republicans at a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning that he would refuse to sit on the committee.
Santos was recently assigned to two committees: the House Small Business Committee and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
The news comes as he faces growing controversy over his false past, scrutiny of his finances, and investigations in the United States and Brazil.
In an exclusive interview with One America News Network (OAN), Senator Santos expressed remorse for lying during his campaign, saying he would have changed only not to lie about his education. said, but he blamed the media for chasing him and his family.
“I don’t think it’s acceptable to lie,” Santos said. “If we’re legislating right now for the American people, there’s no particular situation. So what I may have done during the campaign doesn’t reflect what’s going on in the office. “
Santos said he lied about his education because he felt it was the only way to win a seat in the House of Representatives.
“It was a bad decision. Poor judgment,” he said. “Without a diploma, I felt looked down upon and inferior to others, so I felt the need to do so.”
Santos defended his character, claiming he came from humble beginnings.
“I know a lot of people want to make up this narrative that I faked my way to Congress, but this is absolutely false.” I have built my career through
Also read | The Story of Rep. George Santos: Inside His Many Fabrications, Exaggerations, and Embellishments
On Tuesday, reporters asked whether he made his own decision to leave the committee or was asked by the Speaker of the House.
“Nobody told me to do anything. I made decisions that I thought were best for the benefit of my voters,” Santos said.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed on Tuesday morning that George Santos has said he will withdraw from the committee, but if he fills a seat on the committee it will be temporary.
“If I fill them, it’s temporary, and if he’s cleared, he’ll be able to get the commission back,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy reiterated that the House Ethics Committee plans to ask questions about many of these concerns, and that if you answer those questions, you may get a seat on the committee.
“I think it was the right decision to step away from the committee until he’s cleared everything up,” McCarthy said, adding that the matter was discussed at Monday’s meeting.
Mr McCarthy did not say whether he recommended that he step down from the commission, but he told reporters, “I think we had a good discussion at the meeting,” and Mr Santos said the decision was a step forward. He said he thought it was the best way.
New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik was attending a closed-door meeting in support of a difficult congressional campaign on Long Island.
“We just finished a meeting and George has voluntarily withdrawn from the committee through this process,” Stefanik said.
Santos issued the following statement late Tuesday afternoon.
“Due to the continued high profile of my personal and campaign financial investigations, I have asked Speaker of the House McCarthy to temporarily remove me from commission duties until authorized. It was a decision I take very seriously, and the 118th Congress must continue without media fanfare. It is important to focus on providing level representation. I would like to personally thank Congressman McCarthy for allowing me to meet with him to discuss this issue. Return to Committee To my voters, I remain committed to serving the district and bringing results to both New York’s 3rd Congressional District and the American people. I’m here.
The move comes as a new Siena poll reveals 78% of Santos district voters say he should step down.
It was newly discovered over the weekend that by applying donations to what are called ghost donors, or non-existent people, you may be violating federal law.
eyewitness news Further digging into Santos’ campaign papers filed with the Federal Election Commission It turned out that over $18,000 came from fake donors.
One of them was Rafael Dasilva, the name of a famous Brazilian soccer player, and Steven Caruso, who is featured on Manhattan’s West Fingerboard Road.
That street does not exist.
District 3 residents and Nassau County Councilman Josh Raffazan gathered outside Santos’ Queens district office to ask the FEC to add potential ghost donors to the investigation.
“Essentially, this impudent act of campaign finance fraud allowed him to take money from one source, but he didn’t know where it came from, circumventing campaign finance rules.” said Rafazan.
Reporter Chanty Lands spoke with one of the lawmakers’ actual donors.
“I feel betrayed. My friends and many others have spent so much time campaigning for District 3 on his behalf. Without them, it would not have happened.” said donor David Zere.
in the meantime, Multiple men explained to ABC News Past relationships with New York congressmen — allegedly when they were still teenagers — turned them toxic due to a flood of lies that Santos tried to manipulate and trap them in. They said it did.
Also read | The Bronx family remembers the terrifying moment when a bullet pierced the ceiling
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https://abc7ny.com/george-santos-committees-house-republicans/12754142/ George Santos told House Republicans he would decline to serve on the committee
