The recent House expulsion of NY GOP US Representative George Santos highlights three disturbing things: Santos's lies and alleged crimes, the trashing of the presumption of innocence, and the immense hypocrisy of the GOP, which continues to back its own indictment-laden leader, of which the last is the most terrifying.
First the good news: Santos is now free to pursue his other interests.
Perhaps he could investigate his "Jew-ish" heritage (including his OJ Simpson-style promise to prove that his Brazilian-born grandparents fled Hitler) or the "kidnapping" of his niece by Chinese Communists (law
He could parlay into a new career his volleyball stardom from Baruch College or maybe a promotion at Goldman-Sachs.
He could go back to fundraising (he seems to have a soft spot for veterans and their sick dogs).
He could even explore his penchant for alternate identities (whether that of his donors or that of Anthony Devolder or Kitara Ravache).
As vile (and, in some cases, incredibly sadly comical) as Santos's alleged actions are, they pale in comparison to two others.
The first is the expulsion itself. Virtually all of the Democrats and nearly half the Republicans voted to expel Santos. It's disturbing that he hasn't been convicted of a crime. Our country prides itself on the belief that we are innocent until proven guilty. The US House of Representatives apparently no longer believes that.
(It's notable that the US Senate hasn't expelled its own alleged king of corruption, New Jersey's Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who is currently facing conspiracy and bribery charges--federal charges he also faced under different circumstances back in 2015--before he's tried in court)
With the Santos expulsion--only the sixth ever in the House, and ostensibly for accused crimes--the US House has thrown under the bus the presumption of innocence (although any decent politician would have likely resigned if they were in Santos's position). Although an ethics committee report was damning, the crimes are still only alleged, and no member of the House has been expelled without a conviction (of the previous five, three had fought for the Confederacy, and two were convicted of federal crimes).
Despite the lies and alleged criminal actions of George Santos, we should all be disturbed that a precedent has been set for the country that doesn't bother to wait for the determination of the courts. And such a precedent can be the start of a slippery slope for the presumption of innocence.
But it gets worse.
Of the 220 GOP members in the House, 105 GOP members (48%) voted to expel Santos, not because he was a serial liar, but because of his alleged crimes. The House Committee of Ethics found that the NY Congressman “placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles.”
Which brings us to this: amazingly, most of these 105 GOP members who voted to oust a man accused of 23 felonies and who "placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles," ardently support for the US Presidency a serial liar, a man facing 91 felonies--backed by a thorough House investigation with virtually all GOP witnesses, as well as accusations and evidence laid out in his four indictments--a man who has pledged retribution, a man who has greenlighted using the DOJ for revenge, a man who has discussed invoking the Insurrection Act, and a man who wanted to seize voting machines (Maryland Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin called them out here).
Despite this ousting, in supporting Trump's continuing candidacy, these GOP members also quixotically back a man who, in fact, “placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles.”
And that is more terrifying than anything George Santos could have ever dreamed up.
Just before the expulsion, he said, "I'll go to jail before I resign and admit to something I didn't do."
Traficant served seven years in federal prison.
Speaking of Expulsions: The House didn't even expel Kentucky's William Graves after he killed Maine's Representative Jonathan Cilley in a duel using rifles, in 1838.
