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Why was George Santos expelled from the House? Here are the charges and allegations against him

By Caitlin Yilek

Updated on: December 1, 2023 / 11:19 AM EST / CBS News

Washington — GOP Rep. George Santos of New York was  expelled from the House in a bipartisan vote Friday, with dozens of his Republican colleagues joining Democrats in ousting him from Congress. 

Santos has been the center of overlapping scandals since he won election last year, and he faces a slew of federal charges related to alleged fraud and campaign finance violations. The explosive allegations were detailed in a pair of federal indictments handed down earlier this year, and the  House Ethics Committee issued its own scathing report  earlier this month.

Santos refused repeated calls for his resignation and survived two prior attempts to remove him from office. The first attempt was led by Democrats in May after he was originally indicted by the Justice Department. Republicans renewed the expulsion effort in October following a superseding indictment. But Friday's vote of 311 to 114 made clear that his support among many of his Republican colleagues had eroded. 

Here's what to know about the allegations against Santos that led to his expulsion:

The charges and allegations against Santos

Soon after Santos won a surprising victory in the 2022 midterm elections, media outlets began uncovering a multitude of lies he told about his life story, kicking off months of public scrutiny of his background. 

His campaign also attracted the attention of federal prosecutors. On May 10, the Justice Department announced 13 federal charges against him, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress.

The charges stemmed from "fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations" that were meant to enrich Santos as he ran for Congress, said the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace. 

The indictment outlined three schemes that Santos was allegedly involved in. 

Prosecutors said Santos defrauded campaign donors by inducing them to contribute to a limited liability company that he controlled, and then used the money for his personal expenses, including on luxury designer clothing, credit card payments and car payments. 

In the second scheme, Santos applied for unemployment insurance benefits from New York state in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the indictment. Santos falsely told labor officials he was unemployed, even though he was earning about $120,000 a year from a Florida-based investment firm, the indictment said. 

Prosecutors also alleged Santos misled Congress about his financial circumstances on disclosure statements he filed as part of his congressional campaigns. 

In October, prosecutors hit Santos with an additional 10 counts that accused him of conspiracy to commit offenses against the U.S., wire fraud, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission, falsifying records, aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. 

In total, Santos is charged with:

• one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States
• two counts of wire fraud
• two counts of making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission
• two counts of falsifying records submitted to obstruct the FEC
• two counts of aggravated identity theft
• one count of access device fraud
• seven counts of wire fraud
• three counts of money laundering
• one count of theft of public funds
• two counts of making materially false statements to the United States House of Representatives

In the second indictment, prosecutors accused Santos of stealing his campaign donors' identities and racking up thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges on their credit cards to benefit his campaign and himself personally. Some of the money was transferred to his own bank account, prosecutors said. 

The  superseding indictment also accused him of falsifying campaign finance reports in order to hit fundraising benchmarks and bolster his campaign, while falsely claiming he had loaned his campaign $500,000. 

Santos has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. His trial is set to begin in September. 

The House Ethics Committee report 

The Ethics Committee released a 56-page report on Nov. 16 after a monthslong investigation that uncovered similar allegations as the indictments. 

Investigators said Santos allegedly stole money from his campaign, reported fictitious loans, deceived donors and engaged in fraudulent business dealings. 

The report detailed "substantial evidence" of the congressman funneling campaign funds to cover personal expenses, including at luxury retailers, on cosmetic procedures and on travel. 

Examples include: $4,127 at Hermès; "smaller purchases" at OnlyFans, a website that hosts adult content, and makeup store Sephora; $6,000 at Ferragamo; nearly $3,000 on Botox; and $3,332 for an Airbnb, when Santos was "off at [the] Hampton's [sic] for the weekend." 

It also outlines Santos' long list of lies about his career and education. 

"Representative Santos' congressional campaigns were built around his backstory as a successful man of means: a grandson of Holocaust survivors and graduate from Baruch College with a Master's in Business Administration from New York University, who went on to work at Citi Group and Goldman Sachs, owned multiple properties, and was the beneficiary of a family trust worth millions of dollars left by his mother, who passed years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a result of long-term health effects related to being at one of the towers," the report said. "No part of that backstory has been found to be true." 

The report said members of Santos' campaign viewed him "as a 'fabulist,' whose penchant for telling lies was so concerning that he was encouraged to seek treatment." 

The expulsion resolution

House lawmakers voted for a third time on a resolution to remove Santos from Congress on Friday. The first two attempts came before the Ethics Committee released its report, and several more Republicans indicated they would now support ousting him given the panel's findings. 

For his part, Santos had said he will not seek reelection but remained defiant, accusing his fellow lawmakers before Friday's vote of rushing to expel him despite the fact that he has not been convicted of any crimes. 

"It is a predetermined necessity for some members in this body to engage in this smear campaign to destroy me. I will not stand by quietly," he said on the House floor on Thursday. "They want me out of this body. The people of the 3rd District of New York sent me here. If they want me out, they have to go silence those people."

He walked out of the House chamber before the end of Friday's vote. His expulsion takes effect immediately.

• George Santos

Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.

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Expelled congressman George Santos announces he is re-running for Congress after turning up at SOTU

Disgraced former new york politician was a surprise guest at president joe biden’s state of the union address, article bookmarked.

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Expelled New York Congressman George Santos — who made a surprise appearance at the State of the Union — announced he is running for office again in 2024.

“New York hasn’t had a real conservative represent them since I left office arbitrarily, thanks to RINO, empty suits like @nicklalota ,” Mr Santos wrote on X. “He is a willing to risk the future of our majority and the future of this country for his own political gain.”

Representative Nick LaLota, a Republican, represents a portion of Long Island. He was first elected in 2023 — and could now face the since-expelled former congressman in the next election.

“Tonight, I want to announce that I will be returning to the arena of politics and challenging Nick for the battle over #NY1 ,” Mr Santos continued. “I look forward to debating him on the issues and on his weak record as a Republican. The fight for our majority is imperative for the survival of the country.”

The announcement came in the middle of President Joe Biden ’s fiery State of the Union address which the serial fabulist turned up to – despite being ousted by the people in the room just three months earlier.

“After three months away from this place, I figured I’d come visit and watch the SOTU and update my ‘friends’ in the media about my new plans for public office,” Mr Santos told Axios about his decision to show up.

Farnoush Amiri of the Associated Press noted on X: “According to House rules, any former lawmaker can maintain their floor privileges unless they are a lobbyist, foreign agent, have a direct interest in the bill being considered at the time, or have been convicted of a crime in relation to their election or service.”

Mr Santos was wearing a bedazzled collard and silver shoes, CNN noted.

Mr Santos was ousted from Congress on 1 December by a vote of 311-114.

His expulsion came after an Ethics Committee report found that there was “substantial evidence” that he had “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”.

The report revealed that Mr Santos had spent around $6,000 in campaign donations at the luxury brand Ferragamo and Botox injections, according to campaign spreadsheets. It was also reported that campaign funds were used for OnlyFans subscriptions – the site best known for hosting adult content.

Mr Santos was first elected to Congress in 2022 after losing his first attempt in 2020. Reports later revealed he had told lies about his grandparents being Holocaust survivors and his mother dying on 9/11.

In May, Mr Santos was charged with 13 charges in a Long Island federal court. Several months later, he was hit with a superseding indictment listing 23 counts.

He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, but he’s now in talks for a possible plea deal.

Last month, he mocked his old party after they lost his seat in a special election in New York’s third district.

Democratic Rep Tom Souzzi – the man who represented the district before Mr Santos won in 2022 – won back his old seat on Tuesday night in a tight race against Republican nominee Mazi Melesa Pilip.

Mr Souzzi chose not to run for re-election in 2022, instead mounting a failed primary campaign to be the Democratic nominee for governor, which he lost to incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul .

“I won #NY03 with $0 super PAC money, $0 CLF money and $0 Establishment money,” Mr Santos wrote after the election. “Tonight the establishment set $10 million on fire! I FLIPPED a 23 year Blue seat with the help of grassroots activists and by activating the base with retail politics… Hey @NassauNYGOP money does not buy votes, it’s respecting the wishes of the base that wins votes. #NY3 is #MAGA country and since MAGA was disrespected, MAGA stayed home!”

Ahead of the State of the Union in February last year, Mr Santos came eye to eye with Utah Senator and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The senator told Mr Santos that he didn’t belong in Congress and “should be embarrassed”.

“Tell that to the 142,000 who voted for me”, Mr Santos is reported to have replied.

After the speech, Mr Romney called Mr Santos a “sick puppy”.

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The facts on george santos’ house expulsion: what happens next.

George Santos leaves the Capitol after being expelled from the House of Representatives on Dec. 1, 2023. (AP)

The U.S. House of Representatives expelled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., just a year into his first term. Expulsion required a two-thirds majority, which was reached when 73% of those present and voting supported Santos’ heave-ho. 

In a highly polarized era, the Dec. 1 expulsion was bipartisan (105 Republicans and 206 Democrats voted to oust him) and represented a significant rebuke to Santos’ pattern of fabulism about his life experiences. 

Santos continues to face criminal counts of wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, false statements, records falsification, identity theft and conspiracy.

After the expulsion vote, Santos told reporters , "To hell with this place."

Santos had survived two previous expulsion efforts, as enough lawmakers accepted his argument that expelling him before a trial would short-circuit due process. But the third, successful effort followed the Nov. 16 release of a highly critical investigative report by the House Ethics Committee . 

Before Santos, only five House members had ever been expelled , most recently in 2002, when Rep. James Traficant, a renegade Democrat from Ohio, was convicted of 10 corruption-related charges. The only other House member expelled since the Civil War era was Rep. Ozzie Myers, D-Pa., who was convicted of bribery in 1980. The others were expelled in 1861 after being deemed disloyal to the U.S. early in the Civil War.

Under New York state law, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has 10 days from the date of the vacancy to call for a special election for voters in the district; then the election must follow within 70 to 80 days, the New York State Board of Elections said. Until the election, a taxpayer-funded staff will run Santos’ former office.

Earlier this year, we covered the extraordinary breadth of Santos’ questionable claims about his personal background, from educational and work achievements to his family history to whether he had been a drag queen in Brazil. We found that he rarely acknowledged fabrications or falsehoods; he mostly reiterated them or ignored any questions about their veracity.

The committee’s report recapped a litany of Santos’ apparent fabrications, adding its voice to people who have said his stories were false. The 64-page document used a variation on the word "lie" nine times, and a variation on the word "false" more than 30 times.

"Rep. Santos’ congressional campaigns were built around his backstory as a successful man of means: a grandson of Holocaust survivors and graduate from Baruch College with a Master’s in Business Administration from New York University, who went on to work at CitiGroup and Goldman Sachs, owned multiple properties, and was the beneficiary of a family trust worth millions of dollars left by his mother, who passed years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a result of long-term health effects related to being at one of the towers.

"No part of that backstory has been found to be true."

Federal prosecutors have charged Santos with wire fraud, making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission, falsifying records submitted to obstruct the Federal Elections Commission, aggravated identity theft, access device fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making materially false statements. 

Santos allegedly led multiple additional fraudulent criminal schemes, including stealing family members’ identities and using political contributors’ credit card information to fraudulently inflate his campaign coffers, prosecutors said.

Santos’ defense attorney, Joseph Murray, declined to comment to PolitiFact.

In 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew agreed to resign as vice president and entered a no contest plea to federal tax evasion that allowed him to escape a prison sentence. But Santos resisted such a tactic, and some lawyers said Santos’ expulsion could cost him crucial legal leverage.

"The question really is, does he lose his bargaining chip in dealing with the government?" said Stan Twardy, a former U.S. Attorney in Connecticut, told PolitiFact. "There is no definitive answer."

Purely by the numbers, "most federal criminal cases result in a conviction, and from the outside looking in, the government’s evidence appears to be more than sufficient to convict him," said Ankush Khardori, a former federal prosecutor who specialized in financial fraud and white-collar crime.

Khardori told PolitiFact that the charges against Santos are so numerous and varied that he doubted his resignation would have mattered much for prosecutors. 

"Unless Santos decides to plead out, it will still fall to a jury to decide his fate based on the facts and the law," Khardori said. "The House’s political judgment about his suitability to sit in Congress should not factor into their decision. "

Steve Friedland, a law professor at Elon University, agreed with Khardori. Although the Ethics Committee echoed several of the indictment’s charges, Congress does not have to follow the same "beyond a reasonable doubt" standards the jury will have to follow.

Santos will lose his $174,000 congressional salary and is not eligible for a pension. A member of Congress can receive a pension only after serving for five years . Previous service as a federal employee can count toward that five-year vesting period, though that doesn’t appear to be an issue for Santos.

RELATED:  A guide to George Santos’ dubious statements about drag, Brazil, his 9/11 connection and more

RELATED : George Santos said he "never claimed to be Jewish." That’s Pants on Fire!

Our Sources

PolitiFact, " In final report, House Ethics Committee targets George Santos’ falsehoods ," Nov. 16, 2023

PolitiFact, " A guide to George Santos’ dubious statements about drag, Brazil, his 9/11 connection and more ," March 1, 2023

PolitiFact, Claim about congressional pensions is wrong, once again , May 4, 2020

Roll call vote on the expulsion of George Santos, Dec. 1, 2023

House Ethics Committee, report on George Santos , Nov. 16, 2023

United States v. Devolder Santos (2:23-cr-00197)

U.S. Attorney Eastern District of New York, Congressional Campaign Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Conspiring with Congressional Candidate in Campaign Finance Fraud Scheme , Oct. 5, 2023

U.S. Attorney Eastern District of New York, Congressman George Santos Charged With Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, False Statements, Falsification of Records, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Credit Card Fraud , Oct. 10, 2023

U.S. Attorney, Congressional Campaign Staffer Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud , Nov. 14, 2023

Campaign Legal Center, Campaign Legal Center Responds to George Santos Expulsion Vote , Dec. 1, 2023

Congressional Research Service, Expulsion of Members of Congress: Legal Authority and Historical Practice , Nov. 27, 2023

New York State Board of Elections, Statement to PolitiFact, Dec. 1, 2023

Roll Call, " House expels Rep. George Santos ," Dec. 1, 2023

Email interview, John Marzulli, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York, Dec. 1, 2023

Email interview, Ankush Khardori , lawyer based in Washington, D.C., a contributing editor for New York magazine, and a contributing writer for Politico magazine and former federal prosecutor, Dec. 1, 2023

Email interview, Stan Twardy , corporate litigator and former United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut and Chief of Staff to Connecticut Governor Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. Dec. 1, 2023

Telephone interview, Steve Friedland, professor at the Elon University School of Law and former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Dec. 1, 2023

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by louis jacobson.

George Santos declines White House invitation 

Rep. George Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) shown on Capitol Hill last Wednesday. Credit: AP/Patrick Semansky

WASHINGTON — Rep. George Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) has declined an invitation to join other first-term lawmakers in a meeting Tuesday with President Joe Biden at the White House, according to Santos' office.

All congressional freshmen were invited to the event, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Monday.

Asked by reporters whether the invite list included Santos, Jean-Pierre reiterated that all new lawmakers were invited, although she had no “confirmation on who is attending at this time."

Reached by Newsday, Santos’ office said he would not be attending.

Santos, who has admitted fabricating significant parts of his educational and professional background, faces several probes into his campaign and personal finances.

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Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) is expected to attend the meeting with Biden, his spokesman Matthew Capp said.

D’Esposito, who beat Democrat Laura Gillen for the seat held previously held by Democrat Kathleen Rice, of Garden City, is among 18 House Republicans elected last year who flipped congressional districts Biden had won in 2020.

Santos flipped a longtime Democratic district, defeating public relations executive Robert Zimmerman for the seat formerly held by Tom Suozzi, a Glen Cove Democrat.

Capp said, D’Esposito “has many priorities he’d like to discuss with the President.”

Among them, Capp said in an email, is repeal of the cap on federal deductions for state and local taxes, known as SALT, "and finding avenues of opportunity for the federal government to help enhance infrastructure on Long Island.”

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) said in a statement Tuesday he had turned down the White House invitation "out of protest" for COVID-19 protocols the White House has kept in place for those attending events with the president.

Guests attending events at the White House must be tested for the virus beforehand and must attest to vaccination. Those who are unvaccinated must follow masking and social distancing requirements.

“The time for arbitrary and unscientific pandemic protocols should be far behind us and I am forgoing a historic trip to the White House to raise awareness of this punitive policy in hopes that President Biden will reverse it and other arbitrary, outdated, and unscientific restrictions across the federal system," LaLota said.

Asked about LaLota's statement, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday: "We have protections in place to protect staff and the President of the United States. COVID isn't over."

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.

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Incoming NY Rep. George Santos Faces Louder Calls to Resign After Reported Resumé Lies

A ny times report claims long island congressman-elect george santos may have fabricated his work and educational background on his resume. local party officials say give him time to clear his name, by greg cergol • published december 20, 2022 • updated on december 21, 2022 at 3:10 am.

A Congressman-elect from Long Island is facing increased scrutiny over his resumé in which he lied about his educational and work backgrounds , according to a report.

Calls for George Santos to resign are growing before he is even seated in the House of Representatives. Critics of the Republican gathered on Tuesday outside of a Whitestone apartment — the place New York's Board of Elections lists as his legal address.

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But both the building's landlord and a neighbor confirmed: Santos no longer lives there. The neighbor said he believes Santos moved out in September.

Every aspect of Santos’ life is now under the microscope following a New York Times report that he fabricated much of his political resumé.

In the run-up to the November election, Santos reportedly claimed to have attended New York University and graduated from Baruch College "with a bachelor's degree in economics and finance." NBC New York received statements from both schools saying a search of academic records could not confirm his attendance or completion of graduation requirements.

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Professional work reportedly led Santos to Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, where he became "a seasoned Wall Street financier and investor," according to the Republican's campaign website . But both neither company was able to confirm that he ever worked at either of them.

Feds subpoena Brooklyn church over possible business dealings between former Adams chief of staff and monsignor: Sources

Owner of Gottlieb's deli dies hours before scheduled Donald Trump visit

"He has spat in the face of every resident in the 3rd Congressional District and said facts do not matter," said Josh Lafazan, a Democrat and Nassau County legislator who was a one-time political rival of Santos. Lafazan is now calling on him to resign.

Robert Zimmerman, the Democrat Santos defeated in November in a historic race for New York's 3rd district (it marked the first time in U.S. history that two openly LGBTQ congressional candidates went head-to-head), is demanding investigations into whether Santos lied on his financial disclosure forms — a potential crime.

"How we go forward is to demand that George Santos be fully accountable with documentation to answer these questions," Zimmerman told NBC New York.

So far, Santos has only released a statement characterizing the report as a political attack. A statement released through the congressman-elect's attorney said that Santos "represents the kind of progress that the Left is so threatened by - a gay, Latino, first generation American and Republican who won a Biden district."

A spokesperson for the New York Times said that the "deeply-researched and thoroughly fact-checked reporting speaks for itself. We stand behind its publication unreservedly."

Retired Long Island Republican Congressman Peter King on Tuesday urged Santos to face the accusations with transparency.

"He can’t just say none of this happened and none of this is true," King said. "He has to show why what he is saying is true. The burden is now on him."

In January, the Republican is expected to be welcomed into the new Congress alongside other first-time representatives. But the recent report has potentially put that moment in jeopardy.

King said he wouldn’t be surprised if Democrats try to block Santos from taking his seat in Congress in two weeks, but added that for the moment, there’s not enough evidence to justify such an action.

This article tagged under:

A timeline of George Santos' fabrications and controversy

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. George Santos was ousted from Congress on Friday, effective immediately, following his indictment on multiple federal charges and a scathing House Ethics Committee report.

The New York Republican spent 11 months in the House, but was plagued by scandal from the very beginning, including accusations that he scammed $3,000 from a GoFundMe campaign for a disabled veteran’s dying service dog and immigration documents showing his mother was not in New York on 9/11 as he’d claimed .

Santos, R-N.Y., has become a household name because of the controversy surrounding his time in office. He admitted he embellished his résumé — from where he attended college and his professional background to his “Jew-ish” heritage . C alls for Santos’ resignation have grown within his own party soon followed, as did federal , state , local and international investigations.

NBC News has repeatedly contacted Santos’ team with requests for comment about his lies and other allegations against him.

Here is a timeline of what first got him into hot water:

Nov. 3, 2020: Santos loses his first bid for Congress to Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi. He concedes two weeks later, on Nov. 17.

Jan. 6, 2021: Santos speaks at President Donald Trump’s rally in Washington, D.C., which precedes the attack on the U.S. Capitol, claiming his own election was stolen. He later says in an interview that Trump was at his “full awesomeness that day” but that he did not go on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6.

June 10, 2021: Santos announces his second campaign for Congress, running to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District. His campaign website biography includes that he graduated from Baruch College and was employed as an associate asset manager at Citigroup and at Goldman Sachs.

Sept. 6, 2022: Santos files his personal financial disclosure report , claiming his assets are as much as $11 million. The massive increase in net worth since his 2020 campaign leads The North Shore Leader , a newspaper on Long Island, to raise questions about his finances.

Nov. 8, 2022: Santos wins his second bid for Congress in a contest that made LGBTQ political history , marking the first time two openly gay congressional candidates had gone head to head in a general election.

Nov. 19, 2022: Santos addresses the Republican Jewish Coalition summit , saying his election means that “now there will be three” Jewish Republican members of Congress. Among other references to Judaism in his 2022 congressional campaign, Santos had distributed a position paper claiming to be “a proud American Jew.”

Nov. 21, 2022: In an interview with WNYC , Santos says he “lost four employees” in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. The New York Times later reported that none of the 49 victims appear to have worked at the various firms named in his biography.

Dec. 19, 2022 : The New York Times publishes its bombshell investigation, reporting that Santos lied about his résumé. Joseph Murray, Santos’ lawyer, dismisses the story in a statement , saying Santos was being smeared by “enemies” at the paper, and calls the allegations “defamatory,” without addressing specific claims in The Times’ reporting.

Representatives for Baruch and New York University, where he is also said to have obtained a degree, tell NBC New York that they have no record of his attendance. Representatives for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs also tell NBC New York they have no record of his employment.

Dec. 21, 2022: The Forward reports that Santos’ grandparents did not flee the Holocaust, even though his campaign website claimed at the time that “George’s grandparents fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and again fled persecution during WWII.” The report also questions his alleged Jewish ancestry. The Republican Jewish Coalition says it contacted Santos' team in response to the story, saying, “These allegations, if true, are deeply troubling.”

Dec. 22, 2022: The New York attorney general’s office says it is “looking into a number of issues” surrounding Santos. In response, a lawyer for Santos says he has “not been contacted by anyone” from the attorney general’s office. And Santos himself tweets : “To the people of #NY03 I have my story to tell and it will be told next week.”

Dec. 26, 2022 : Santos admits to having embellished his résumé in several New York media interviews. He tells City & State New York that he embellished his résumé and that he is sorry, while emphasizing to WABC radio that he has not “ever committed any crimes” in the U.S. or abroad. The interviews are among Santos’ first responses to the Times investigation.

In another Dec. 26 interview with the New York Post , Santos acknowledges some of the specific fabrications in his résumé. He says he did not graduate from Baruch College or any other institution of higher learning. He says his claims that he worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs were “a poor choice of words.” And when asked about his claims that his grandparents survived the Holocaust, Santos says: “I never claimed to be Jewish. I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”

Dec. 28, 2022: The Nassau County district attorney opens an investigation into Santos, saying in a statement: “The numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated with Congressman-Elect Santos are nothing short of stunning. … No one is above the law and if a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it.”

Also on Dec. 28, Santos appears on Fox News , telling host Tulsi Gabbard, a former House member: “I’m not a fraud. I’m not a fake. I’ve made some mistakes,” adding that “it’s not false” that he worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

Jan. 2, 2023: The New York Times reports that “Brazilian law enforcement authorities intend to revive fraud charges against” Santos in connection with an incident in 2008 relating to a stolen checkbook, citing a spokeswoman for the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office. NBC News has not independently verified the plans.

Jan. 9, 2023: The Campaign Legal Center files a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing the Santos campaign of using campaign funds to pay personal expenses and concealing the origins of a $705,000 loan Santos made to his campaign.

Also on Jan. 9, CNBC and other news outlets report that a member of Santos’ political team impersonated House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s chief of staff to raise campaign money. Santos’ lawyer would not say whether Santos knew a member of his team had pretended to be McCarthy’s chief of staff, CNBC reported.

Jan. 10, 2023: Reps. Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres, both D-N.Y., file a complaint with the House Ethics Committee over Santos’ alleged “failure to file timely, accurate and complete financial disclosure reports.”

Jan. 11, 2023: Nassau County, New York, Republican officials hold a news conference  calling for Santos to resign , in which county GOP Chairman Joe Cairo also notes that Santos said not only that he went to Baruch College, but also that he was a “star” on the volleyball team. Four House Republicans follow soon after with their own calls for Santos to resign. Santos rebuffs them, telling reporters, “I will not resign.” He also tweets, “I will NOT resign!”

Jan. 12, 2023 : Santos says he will resign if “142,000 people” ask him to in an interview with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on “Steve Bannon’s War Room,” referring to the number of voters who backed him in the election.

Jan. 17, 2023: Santos is awarded seats on two committees after some Republicans and many Democrats warned that seating him on major committees could lead to a national security risk. He is named to the Small Business Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Jan. 18, 2023: NBC News and other outlets obtain immigration records showing that Santos’ mother was not in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, after he had claimed that she was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center and survived the 9/11 attacks.

Also on Jan. 18, a disabled veteran accuses Santos of having taken thousands of dollars raised on GoFundMe for his service dog to have lifesaving surgery. Santos responds on Twitter : “Reports that I would let a dog die is shocking & insane.”

Jan. 19, 2023: Santos says any claims that he performed as a drag queen are “categorically false” after a Brazilian drag performer shared on social media an image of herself and another person in drag, whom she identified as Santos. NBC News has not independently verified the images.

Kate Santaliz is an associate producer for NBC News’ Capitol Hill team.

Liz Brown-Kaiser covers Capitol Hill for NBC News.

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• Share this -

Congressman Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Michael Steele former chairman of the RNC join Alicia Menendez in for Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House to discuss the house of representatives voting to expel George Santos making him just the sixth member in the history of the chamber to be removed by their own colleagues Dec. 1, 2023

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A former Bush 43 White House official advised Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) to “stay away” should they both plan to visit a community rocked by the aftermath of their racist lie about Springfield, Ohio .

Pete Seat, who served as a spokesperson under President George W. Bush ’s administration, told CNN ’s Jim Acosta on Wednesday that he thinks of visits like those made by a president following a natural disaster.

“You know, when a president goes to the site of a hurricane or a tornado, it diverts resources. Law enforcement and first responders have to take care of the president or in this case, the former president visiting,” he said.

He continued, “I think this would be the absolute worst time for Donald Trump to visit that town because it would divert resources that are needed elsewhere.”

Seat’s comments come over a week after the GOP nominee, during his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris , pushed the racist claim that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in the Ohio community.

Springfield ― in the days since ― has seen over 30 bomb threats while Mayor Rob Rue said he’d be “fine” with Trump not visiting the city, citing an “extreme strain” on resources should he make the stop.

The former president announced at a rally Wednesday night that he’d be going to Springfield “in the next two weeks” and suggested that his supporters “may never see” him following the visit.

Seat, after Acosta mentioned Vivek Ramaswamy’s visit to the Ohio community, called the former presidential candidate “bombastic and useless” and noted that he tries to ignore him.

The Republican commentator later noted that Vance’s loyalty is to his ticket, adding that there’s a “perfect and now heart-wrenching storm” that has engulfed Springfield.

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“I hate to watch it. As the only child of immigrant parents myself, I completely agree. We should love thy neighbor, we should all work together as a community across this country but unfortunately, this country is broken,” he said.

“It’s not just political rhetoric and political violence. We are broken and we need to mend our fences across ideologies, across geographies, across racial lines.

H/T: Mediaite

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