As Santos reportedly faces charges, bill to oust him gains support, California lawmaker says

Federal prosecutors reportedly filed criminal charges Tuesday against freshman GOP Rep. George Santos, a move that has reignited interest in a California Democrat’s resolution to expel him from Congress.

The charges were filed under seal, according to CNN, so it was not clear what crimes Santos is charged with committing. Questions raised about Santos (R-N.Y.) include whether he financed his campaign legally.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) said he’d heard from “numerous” House members Tuesday about his resolution to oust Santos. It has about 40 co-authors, with a few Republicans showing interest as well.

“That number continues to grow, and will continue to grow over the next few days,” he said. “Numerous members reached out since the charges were announced.”

Garcia called on Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) to move the resolution forward in the House.

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York declined to comment Tuesday on whether Santos had been charged.

Several accusations of criminal activity have swirled around the Republican, whose lies about his background left even some members of his own party calling for his resignation from Congress.

Santos told an Associated Press journalist who contacted him about the charges Tuesday afternoon: “That’s news to me. You’re the first to call me about this.”

Santos has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since early March in a widespread inquiry that — among other things — has looked into whether he “engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign.”

The investigation has also looked into whether he engaged in sexual misconduct toward a person seeking employment in his office.

Santos was elected last year to represent a Long Island district in Congress, helping Republicans to secure a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.

Shortly after he was elected, his background came under scrutiny when the New York Times published an article exposing fabrications about himself upon which he had built his campaign.

Although Santos had claimed he attended New York University and graduated from Baruch College, he later admitted that he did not graduate from college or graduate school.

He also admitted that he never worked directly for Citigroup or Goldman Sachs, as he had initially claimed.