Rep. George Santos, the disgraced New York Republican who fabricated most of his life story to get elected, said Wednesday that 13 charges of fraud against him is a “witch hunt” and he will fight to clear his name.
But a host of fellow House Republicans called him unfit to serve in Congress and urged him to resign.
“I’m going to fight my battle, I’m gonna deliver. I’m going to fight the witch hunt, I’m going to clear my name and I look forward to doing that,” Mr. Santos, after pleading not guilty, told a throng of reporters outside the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
“We have an indictment, we have the information the government wants to come after me on,” he said. “It’s a witch hunt because it makes no sense that in four months — four months, five months — I’m indicted. You have Joe Biden’s entire family receiving deposits, nine family members receiving money, from foreign destinations into their bank accounts.”
He was arrested early Wednesday and charged with multiple offenses related to an alleged scheme to use political donations for designer clothing and personal debts. The indictment also alleges that Mr. Santos applied for COVID-19 unemployment relief despite making $120,000 per year at a Florida investment firm and misstated income amounts on House disclosure forms.
The charges sparked widespread calls for him to resign from Congress or face expulsion but the congressman said he will fight back, characterizing the federal prosecution as a political hit job that singles him out even as President Biden faces questions about his family’s business ties overseas.
SEE ALSO: Feds arrest Rep. George Santos, allege he siphoned political funds and lied on House forms
Mr. Santos pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlene R. Lindsay at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. He was released on $500,000 bond.
Mr. Santos, 34, ran unsuccessfully in 2020 but won his race in New York’s 3rd Congressional District in 2022 as part of the GOP takeover of the House.
The indictment alleges three schemes by Mr. Santos: creating a limited liability company falsely telling donors the money would go to his campaign, only to pocket the money for clothing and other personal expenses; applying for and receiving COVID-19 unemployment funds in mid-2020 from the New York State Department of Labor despite holding a job; and overstating or declining to report income from one company in 2020 and 2022 House disclosure forms.
The unemployment fraud charges are notable because House is scheduled this week to consider a bill, the Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act, that seeks to help taxpayers recoup some of the fraudulent COVID-19 payments. Mr. Santos is listed as a cosponsor of the bill.
“The allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself. He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said.
Mr. Santos faces seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
The charges are a significant development in Mr. Santos’ checkered congressional tenure.
The life story he created began to unravel shortly after his election win. Numerous reports revealed that the congressman lied about his education, work history and even his Jewish heritage. Fellow lawmakers openly scoffed at his resume padding and distortions, including a claim he was once a star volleyball player.
The scandal made him an object of fascination with late-night television and online commentators, who remarked on his sweater-and-sneakers fashion and tense exchange with Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah at the State of the Union Address.
Many lawmakers called on Mr. Santos to resign, but he rebuffed their calls and said he wanted to seek reelection next year.
Simmering calls for him to step down reached a boil after his arrest.
“He’s not capable of being an effective member of Congress,” Rep. Nick Langworthy, New York Republican, said. “I have long thought he should resign.”
Rep. Dan Goldman, New York Democrat, said Mr. Santos’ alleged crimes “got him here, and he, therefore, needs to be removed immediately from Congress.”
He said, if Mr. Santos does not resign on his own, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy should encourage him to step aside. If that does not work, Mr. Goldman said, an expulsion motion should be brought to the floor.
Mr. Santos will have the presumption of innocence as his case heads to court, and he is hardly the first member of Congress to face serious charges.
Mr. McCarthy has said that his policy is a member should resign if he or she is found to be guilty, such as happened with Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican convicted of concealing information and making false statements to federal authorities.
Mr. Santos is part of a narrow Republican majority in the House.
Mr. Langworthy said he is confident that Republicans in Nassau County can put forward an effective alternative if Mr. Santos leaves Congress or is ousted.
“I think we can hold the seat,” Mr. Langworthy said.
The White House declined to weigh in on the case or what the House should do about the indicted congressman.
“It’s a case that we’re not going to speak to. The Justice Department is independent, and we respect that,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Expulsion is “something for the House conference to decide on,” she said. “How they want to show to the American people what they want their conference to look like, that’s up to them.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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