How do you solve a problem like George Santos?
Can he be recalled? No
Can he be charged with a crime for lying about his bio? No
Can the House of Representatives refuse to seat him? No
However:
He can face criminal and civil fraud charges for lying on documents submitted to government entities and investors.
He could be extradited to Brazil to face criminal charges there.
He could be censured or expelled by the House.
There is approximately zero chance that Kevin McCarthy and his band of merry insurrectionists will force Santos to resign, since he would be replaced by a Democrat. And there is certainly zero chance that Santos will resign on his own, since he can continue to serve even if tried and convicted on federal tax charges, for which he is currently being investigated.
So unless and until the House GOP puts country before party (i.e., coterminous with the first verified report of porcine aviation), they and we are stuck with Santos through 2024. Sad.
George Santos lied to voters. So what are the potential consequences? – Gothamist
New York State has no recall law. One was proposed ten years ago, was not enacted.
Laws governing recall in NYS, or lack thereof
While recall elections do not occur, the New York Constitution states, “Any town, village, improvement district or fire district officer, except a justice of the peace, may be removed from office by the supreme court for any misconduct, maladministration, malfeasance or malversation in office.” Any citizen within the officeholder’s district may submit an application for removal to the local branch of the appellate division of the supreme court.
@Dobbs,
Yes. That’s what I posted, but with fewer words and a link.
You posted a link to an op-ed.
I posted a link to an explanation that the state of NY has no law that provides for electoral recall, but I also observed elsewhere that (but did not post) that a state senator proposed such a law about ten years ago that was not enacted. It’s up to states to handle this currently.
Laws governing recall in New York
Local officials can be removed by state supreme court order in NYS, not those at higher levels currently.
@Fred,
From the link I posted: “New York is not among the 30 states with a mechanism for citizens to recall an elected official on the local level, or the 19 states where you can recall state officials, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.”
Recall Provisions in 20 State Constitutions and Statutes
New York does have a mechanism for removing local officials, except justices-of-the-peace or state or federal legislators, by state supreme court action.
LOL!
There’s no way for citizens to recall George Santos. Full stop. Nothing you’ve posted changes that. Sorry this is so hard for you to understand.
I do understand.
NYS either passes a new law allowing recalls, or the voters of his district take him out in the next election if he manages to get re-nominated. Or his fellow representatives shun him and he quits.
Congress can expel Santos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expulsion_from_the_United_States_Congress
@Dave,
Yes. That’s what I posted.
It seems very unlikely that a GOP-controlled House is going to expel one of their own. If he becomes a laughingstock, maybe he will quit.
@Fred,
As I posted, there is approximately zero chance that Kevin McCarthy and his band of merry insurrectionists will force Santos to resign, since he would be replaced by a Democrat. And there is certainly zero chance that Santos will resign on his own, since he can continue to serve even if tried and convicted on federal tax charges, for which he is currently being investigated.
An extradition agreement exists between the US and Brazil, so when/if things calm down down there, maybe Santos will end in a Brazilian prison.
@Fred,
I mentioned extradition to Brazil in my post, too. With appeals, he could drag things out for two years, at which time, the voters will give him the boot anyway.
I agree. The worst that can happen is his constituents send him right back. That’d be democracy for you. (Is this a true Horatio Alger stiory or what?)
Just thank the gods of undemocratic republicanism that he was not elected Speaker of the House :<)
Ron:
Your tongue-in-cheek response warrants an answer. I wish they had made him Speaker of the House. Think of the irony (which I believe you have).
@run,
Indeed. Santos is the perfect sock puppet for the modern GOP.
Joel:
Think of the political ad Dems could run . . .
@run,
I’m seeing predictions that McCarthy is <1 Scaramucci away from a vacate motion. If that’s true, the ads will write themselves.
George Santos Faces Calls to Resign From Long Island GOP Leaders
NY Times – Jan 11
Republican officials on Long Island, including Representative Anthony D’Esposito, called on Wednesday for Representative George Santos to resign, as he faces multiple inquiries into his finances, campaign spending and fabrications on the campaign trail.
Mr. D’Esposito, who represents a district just to the south of Mr. Santos, said at a news conference that his Republican colleague had violated the trust from “not only the voters, but people across America.”
Mr. D’Esposito, who joined the event via video from his office in Washington, said he “will not associate with him in Congress and I will encourage other representatives in the House of Representatives to join me in rejecting him.”
The Nassau County party chairman, Joseph G. Cairo Jr., said that Mr. Santos, a first-term Republican, had lost the confidence of Republicans in his district, saying that Mr. Santos’s campaign was one of “deceit, lies, fabrication.” …
@Fred,
Yes, I saw that. The bleating of the Nassau County GOP will make no difference.
There is approximately zero chance that Kevin McCarthy and his band of merry insurrectionists will force Santos to resign, since he would be replaced by a Democrat. And there is certainly zero chance that Santos will resign on his own, since he can continue to serve even if tried and convicted on federal tax charges, for which he is currently being investigated.
So unless and until the House GOP puts country before party (i.e., coterminous with the first verified report of porcine aviation), they and we are stuck with Santos through 2024.
Stranger things have happened.
Who is Jack Martins? George Santos’ Potential GOP Replacement
Newsweek – Jan 12
Speculation is growing over who could replace Rep. George Santos, the GOP congressman from New York who has admitted fabricating much of his resume, after his local Republican Party urged him to resign immediately.
New York State Senator Jack Martins is being touted as a potential GOP candidate in the special election that would be triggered if Santos steps down. …
(So, it looks like there would be a special election if Santos resigns, and not up to the Dem-dominated NYS legislature to appoint one of their own to replace him.
Martins apparently has run for Congress in the district before and narrowly lost.)
@Fred,
LOL! So “people are saying,” eh?
Newsweek must be desperate for copy. Nothing but speculation there.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Is the GOP hold on Long Island so tenuous that they would risk having a Dem replace George Santos, who is such an embarrassment, just to get away from the stench? I don’t suppose Kevin McCarthy would agree. I sort of hope GS & the lingering stench hang around.
@Fred,
Does this make you think he’s going away?
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/gaetz-santos-steve-bannon-war-room-interview
He’s one more member of the GOP majority (albeit a small one, fortunately) in the House, and reflects a fairly large contingent of support in NY.
My concern, fwiw, has to be about MA, and New England as a whole. There are no GOP Representatives in the House from any of the NE states, and I would like it to stay that way.
There’s a lot of Redness and GOP support in NY, and it has long been that way. Outside of urban areas, in western NY and on Long Island, for whatever reason. Having grown up in western NY, my choice as an adult was to go elsewhere, and I haven’t been back, much.
@Fred,
I suspect all this hand-wringing by the NY GOP is fake. They know Santos won’t leave and McCarthy won’t push him, so they can publicly posture as doing the right thing without owning the consequences to the GOP.
It could be that since NYS now behave ‘very ungenerously’ towards The Donald that actions of the NYS GOP leadership will get scant attention from the national GOP leadership.
In other news Merrick Garland turns (some of) his attention toward Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified material.
Special Counsel Inquiry Leaves Biden and Garland in Awkward Spots
NY Times – Jan 13
Although the cases differ significantly, the new investigation is sure to muddy the waters politically as former President Donald J. Trump cries persecution over his own documents inquiry. …
@Fred,
Former President Donald J. Trump desperately tries to muddy the waters as he cries persecution over his own documents inquiry.
FIFY
Fortunately Obama did not hold on to ANY classified material.
Or, Didn’t he? The GOP should be looking into this forthwith.
Obama did not keep classified documents, the National Archives confirms.
NY Times – Aug 12, 2002
(High US officials without personal military experience seem to be pretty sloppy about handling of classified material. Of course, DJT did spend a few years at a private military school, so maybe he should have known better.)
@Fred,
Why stop with Obama? What about GW Bush and Bill Clinton? Indeed, what about GHW Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, LBJ and JFK? Just because they’re dead doesn’t mean their document handling practices can’t be investigated. Endless ways to waste taxpayer money, aren’t there?
I should clarify that there is substantial GOP presence in all the rural areas of NYS, north of NYC all the way to Canada, and west to Lake Erie. But the number of GOP voters overall is less than the number of Dems, significantly.
NYS party affiliation – Pew Research
(Almost twice as many Dems as GOP voters.)
As one who spent some years in the military, in an outfit associated with intelligence & security, it seems to me that presidents going back to Nixon (who had some experience as a supply officer in WW2) were sloppy about handling classified materials. Trump, however, takes the cake, who seemed to think maybe he could sell some of it (it is said.)
RM Nixon’s service in WW2:
(A practicing lawyer before the start of WW2, he) accepted an appointment as a commissioned line officer in the U.S. Navy on June 15, 1942. … served as Aide to the Executive Officer at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base in Ottumwa, Iowa, until May 1943. Nixon then served as Officer in Charge of the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command at Guadalcanal and later at Green Island, where he supervised C-47 cargo operations until June 1944. He next served with Fleet Air Wing EIGHT from August to December 1944, and then at the Bureau of Aeronautics from December 1944 until he left active duty and joined the U.S. Naval Reserve on March 10, 1946.
Veteran Tributes …
I should clarify that there is substantial GOP presence in all the rural areas of NYS, north of NYC all the way to Canada, and west to Lake Erie. But the number of GOP voters overall is less than the number of Dems, significantly.
NYS party affiliation – Pew Research
(Almost twice as many Dems as GOP voters.)