 |
| George Santos (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) |
George Santos, a Republican congressman, has been detained and is facing 13 accusations. He is charged by the Department of Justice with fraud, money laundering, stealing from the government, and giving false testimony.
According to the official document, which describes each of the offenses, the thirteen charges relate to crimes of fraud (seven), money laundering (three), theft of public funds, and false testimony (two).
Santos is considered innocent until proven guilty, but according to the Department, if that occurs, "he faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison for the most serious charges."
Santos will appear this afternoon before a federal judge in the Central Islip district in the Suffolk (Long Island) county of New York, where he was elected in the 2022 elections by the Republican Party, which has not yet distanced itself from him in Washington despite accumulating evidence against him.
He is allegedly suspected by the Justice Department of "embezzling donations from his supporters, fraudulently obtaining unemployment benefits, and lying to the House of Representatives."
Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, noted that with this kind of action, he hopes to "aggressively eradicate corruption and self-deception from public institutions, as well as hold public officials accountable to the constituencies that elected them."
In a graphic statement, made reference to (Santos's) "persistent dishonesty and deception to climb the halls of Congress and enrich himself: he used political donations to line his pockets," before noting that he also benefited from unemployment benefits "that should have gone to New Yorkers who lost their jobs in the pandemic."
Santos's bogus resume was covered in a network of lies about his family, his faith, his studies, his interests, and himself, which the New York Times newspaper was the first to expose shortly after Santos's victory last year. Even Santos admits that he "embellished" some of the facts.
The local GOP chapter formally separated itself from Santos as media investigation exposed more overtly criminal behaviour connected to the use of the funds, but in Washington, the party has been much less rigorous and has not stopped him from keeping his seat.
Although the current facts might make you to reevaluate your opinion, the Republican Party has a narrow majority in the 222-seat House of Representatives (compared to 213 Democrats) and cannot easily lose any of its members, which may explain the tolerance exhibited for Santos in Washington.
.jpeg)
