LaLota: Santos has been afforded ‘much more process than a person in his shoes deserved’

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) pushed back against allegations Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was not afforded due process during the House Ethics Committee’s investigation, arguing the embattled lawmaker was afforded “much more process than a person in his shoes deserved.”

“Mr. Speaker, while this proceeding is not covered by the due process clauses, George Santos has indeed been afforded much more process than a person in his shoes deserved,” LaLota said during a debate on the expulsion Thursday.

Santos has long argued he was not given due process in the House Ethics Committee’s investigation, which he has repeatedly called “rushed” as part of an effort to push the New York Republican out of the lower chamber.

LaLota, along with House Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.), largely rejected Santos’s argument Thursday, pointing to Santos’s decision to not testify before the committee. Santos claimed the committee’s deadline to testify was the same day he needed to go to court, adding the committee required a “hard-liner yes or no,” and that “they wouldn’t settle for anything else.”

“Santos had every opportunity to be heard when the Ethics Committee invited him to confront the accusations, an invitation Santos rejected,” LaLota said on the floor.

Guest also pushed back against Santos’s claim that he was cooperative with the committee’s investigation, telling the House floor “the record of investigation reveals otherwise.”

LaLota further rejected the argument that the House should wait until the 2024 election to let New York voters decide Santos’s fate, arguing voters in 2022 were not given a chance to determine who “they were actually voting for.”

The House is slated to hold a vote on expelling Santos from the lower chamber Friday in the wake of the Ethics Committee’s damning report that found “substantial evidence” Santos committed serious federal crimes.

The report, released after a months-long investigation, stated the lawmaker “cannot be trusted.” The findings of the report renewed earlier calls for Santos’s expulsion, with several lawmakers who previously backed Santos they will now vote to oust him from the lower chamber.

Santos survived two other expulsion attempts earlier this year, but Friday’s vote could have increased chances success as several lawmakers who previously backed Santos said they would now be voting to expel him in the third vote.

Santos faces a total of 23 federal charges over alleged wire fraud, inflated campaign reports, money laundering and misusing campaign contributions. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges and is expected to face trial in September 2024.