Rep. George Santos (R-NY) sent off "thank you notes" to Republican lawmakers who helped defeat a Democratic-led measure to vote on his expulsion from the House, reported The Daily Beast on Monday.
"Several House Republicans familiar with the matter told the outlet that Santos’ staff hand-delivered the letters to their offices," reported A.J. McDougall. "'I want to personally thank you for your support in referring the vote for my expulsion to the Ethics Committee,' the letter reads. 'This has been an especially difficult time in my life, and I want to serve my constituents the best I can. Now more than ever, the Republican majority needs to stick together, and you demonstrated great dedication and courage by putting differences aside to allow the proper process to play out.'"
The vote, which Republicans passed 221 to 204 along party lines, essentially puts off any vote on expelling Santos indefinitely while the Ethics Committee does its work — even though Santos has already been indicted on 13 criminal charges.
The charges, which include wire fraud, money laundering, and false statements, allege that Santos deceived donors about how campaign money was being used, that he fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits while ineligible for them, and that he made false statements to Congress to obscure his financial irregularities. Santos denies all allegations and has pleaded not guilty.
This comes after months of scandal surrounding Santos, who was exposed for having fabricated almost every aspect of his career background to voters, and whose campaign finance reports were full of irregularities. Santos has also faced wilder accusations, including that he tried to scam money out of a fundraiser for a disabled veteran's dying service dog, and that he wrote a bad check to a dog breeder in Amish Country.
Santos has faced a chorus of calls to resign from Republican House members in New York — but even all of those members voted to push aside the expulsion resolution.
