Con(gress)man George Santos spent much of the other day in a federal building, but it wasn't the Capitol where he casts votes and likes to make floor speeches. Instead Santos was out in the federal courthouse in Central Islip on Long Island being arraigned on 13 criminal counts by Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace and Corey Amundson, chief of the public integrity section in Main Justice in D.C.
Santos pleaded not guilty and said that he would not resign and he would continue his reelection bid next year. However, since everything he says is a lie, maybe he thinks he really is guilty and may quit at any moment.
So now the fake grad (of high school and college and business school), fake banker, fake Jew, fake dog rescuer, fake 9/11 family member, is, in fact, a real indictee. Hopefully Peace and Amundson have a solid case, because this is going to be the only way to get this mendacious miscreant out of the Nassau/Queens House seat he lied his way into.
We knew once his fables and fibs started unraveling that this shameless man would never resign voluntarily and that he would only relinquish his office if the feds offered him a deal to hit the road in exchange for reducing the charges against him. And at least now we have the charges, from stealing covid unemployment benefits to swindling campaign contributions and putting the money in his pocket to lying on congressional disclosure forms.
It's a mistake or he can explain it all or it's a witch hunt. For our part, we're not sure we quite understand the disclosure forms charges. Supposedly Santos misreported his modest income sources during his 2020 campaign, but still the total dollar number was about right. In the 2022 campaign, he claimed six- and seven-figure amounts for income and assets, which the feds say he didn't have. Inflating wealth on a form is a lot weaker than stealing. But still, the lawmen should use whatever ammo they have to nail this guy.