A legal conviction should be necessary when throwing an elected representative out of Congress, Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., told Newsmax on Monday in explaining why he voted against the expulsion of New York Republican George Santos from the House for ethics violations in a 311-114 vote, with 105 GOP members backing the move.
Smith said on "Wake Up America" that "this is effectively an unprecedented scenario ... and I am concerned about the weaponization of procedural moves in the House moving forward," emphasizing that "a legal conviction should be necessary" for such a drastic action.
When he was asked if he was concerned a Democrat could take over Santos' seat in the upcoming special election, Smith said, "I like the trend I have been reading about in New York," stressing that "the policies of the Biden administration are a disaster and I think the people of America know this."
The congressman noted that although Democrats will make use of the argument that the GOP can't be trusted to send a trustworthy representative, Smith stated emphatically that the issues speak for themselves, with the weak economy of the Biden Administration hurting the average person.
Smith also commented on the impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, saying he is very concerned about what he has seen in the House Ways and Means Committee, of which he is a member. He said that the public would find the facts so far "chilling."
Asked about the timing of the measure, which the public could say it is only Republicans using it as a weapon in the upcoming general election, Smith agreed that it would be a Democratic Party allegation, but he made clear that "the seriousness of the facts that we already know really need to be looked at."
The congressman said that before making a final decision on impeachment, he wants more details, but emphasized that the information so far from the IRS whistleblowers, which no one has discredited, is very worrisome.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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