WESTBURY, NY — Republican officials on Long Island, including Representative Anthony D’Esposito, on Wednesday called for Rep. George Santos to step down, as he faces questions about his finances. campaign goals and campaign fabrications.
Nassau County party chairman Joseph G. Cairo Jr. said Santos, a first-term Republican, had lost confidence among Republicans in his district, citing his campaign. Santos is one of the “lies, lies, fabrications. “
“He has discredited the House of Representatives and we do not consider him one of our representatives,” Mr. Cairo said. “Today on behalf of the Nassau County Republican Party committee. I am calling on him to resign immediately.”
Joining via video from Washington, Mr. D’Esposito, who represents a district just south of Mr. Santos, said his Republican colleagues had violated the trust of “not only voters, but people as well. across America.”
Mr D’Esposito said he “will not align with him in Congress and I will encourage other representatives in the House to join me in rejecting him.”
More on the George Santos Controversy
Calls for Mr. Santos to step down marked the harshest accusations of congressman’s conduct from Republicans ever since. reported in the New York Times discovered that Mr. Santos had made false statements about his education and profession, and raised questions about his business, financial disclosures and campaign expenses.
They also add to the pressure facing Mr. Santos, who is currently the subject of federal and local prosecutors’ investigation into whether his financial dealings or lies during the campaign. running for office will be criminally charged.
Just this week, Mr. Santos, 34, has been the subject of two formal ethics complaints. On Tuesday, two Democratic lawmakers File a formal complaint asked the House of Representatives’ bipartisan Ethics Committee to investigate whether Mr. Santos broke the law by filing his required financial disclosures late and without key bank account details and its business activities.
A day earlier, a watchdog group, the Campaign Legal Center, had called on the Federal Election Commission to investigate the congressman, accusing him of improperly using campaign funds for personal expenses. , perjury spending and conceal the true origin of campaign money.
Brazilian law enforcement officials also said they were reinstating fraud charges against Mr. Santos related to a 2008 incident involving a stolen checkbook, after the incident was revealed in the lawsuit. The Times report.
In particular, Mr. Cairo’s rebuke represents a significant rift between Mr. Santos and an organization integral to helping the congressman secure his seat, which covers a large swath of Nassau County and a large part of Nassau County. much smaller area northeast of Queens.
It also marked a deep divide between local Republicans and their state and national counterparts. In the weeks since The Times story, the speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, has largely kept quiet about the ongoing controversy, though he told a reporter told CNN that he did not expect Mr. Santos to take on the task of selection committees.
Mr. Santos supports Mr. McCarthy in The long battle to be a speaker last week. But Mr McCarthy has not commented publicly on reports by CNBC and The Washington Times that someone working with Mr Santos’s campaign impersonated Mr McCarthy’s chief of staff to raise money from donors.
On Tuesday, the Republican majority leader, Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, said the party leadership would address questions about Santos “internally” but acknowledged that “there are concerns.” that he and others wanted to deal with. Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, third-class Republican, told Spectrum News reporter that “this will happen on its own.”
Other rank-and-file Republicans have been more outspoken in their condemnations. Representative Nick LaLota, another first-term lawmaker representing parts of Long Island, called for a House ethics inquiry last month. Representative Anthony D’Esposito, whose county includes parts of Nassau County, told NBC News on Tuesday that he also supports an ethics investigation.
On Tuesday, Representative Dusty Johnson of South Dakota told CNN he doesn’t believe Santos should sit on House committees “until we get a deeper understanding of exactly what went on during the campaign.” his candidacy.”
After Mr Santos admitted to the New York Post that he lied about part of his background, Mr Cairo said he was “deeply disappointed” by what he called his “overarching apology”. Santos.
Days later, Mr. Cairo said the Nassau District committee would not support Mr. Santos if he ran for re-election in 2024, but he continued to call for Mr. Santos’ resignation.
