Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election in the wake of a House ethics report.
"If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the ‘Ethics committee’, they would have not released this biased report. The Committee went to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming (My legal bills suggest otherwise)," Santos wrote on X. "It is a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk. Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of Justice should all be ashamed of themselves. We the People desperately need an Article V Constitutional Convention."
"I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed. I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time," he wrote. "Public service life was never a goal or a dream, but I stepped up to the occasion when I felt my country needed it most. I will 100% continue to maintain my commitment to my conservative values in my remaining time in Congress."
Chairman of the House Ethics Committee, Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., plans to file a motion to expel Santos on Friday during session, Guest's personal office told Fox News Digital Thursday.
HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE HEAD TO MOVE TO EXPEL GEORGE SANTOS AFTER RELEASE OF DAMNING REPORT
The ethics committee released a damning report that accused Santos of having "used campaign funds for personal purposes" and "engaged in fraudulent conduct," among other allegations. Guest filing the resolution tees up an expected vote on whether to boot Santos from the House sometime after lawmakers return from the Thanksgiving break on Nov. 28.
In the 56-page report, the bipartisan subcommittee unanimously agreed that Santos "knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with RedStone Strategies LLC; and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to his Financial Disclosure (FD) Statements filed with the House."
FORMER SANTOS CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISER CHARGED WITH WIRE FRAUD, IDENTITY THEFT
That includes $50,000 in campaign donations that were wired to Santos' personal account on Oct. 21, 2022 and allegedly used to, among other things, "pay down personal credit card bills and other debt; make a $4,127.80 purchase at Hermes; and for smaller purchases at OnlyFans; Sephora; and for meals and for parking."
On Thursday, Santos also said, "We are quickly approaching $34 trillion dollars in debt, the government is continuously on the verge of a shutdown, our southern border is wide open, our current President is the head of an influence peddling crime family, and all this Congress wants to do is attack their political enemies with tit for tat unconstitutional censures, impeachments, expulsions and ethics investigations. THE TIME IS NOW FOR THE STATES TO RISE UP AND COMMENCE AN ARTICLE V CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION!"
"I’ve come to expect vitriol like this from political opposition but not from the hallowed halls of public service," he wrote. "I will remain steadfast in fighting for my rights and for defending my name in the face of adversity. I am humbled yet again and reminded that I am human and I have flaws, but I will not stand by as I am stoned by those who have flaws themselves."
Santos, who flipped a Democratic House seat on Long Island red in the 2022 midterm elections, was thereafter exposed as having lied on his resume, namely over his Jewish heritage, business experience on Wall Street and as having attended college. He has long refused calls from his own Republican Party to resign, even after federal prosecutors charged him in multiple fraud schemes. Last month, federal prosecutors announced a superseding indictment accusing Santos of stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign.
Fox News' Liz Elkind contributed to this report.
