Less than two weeks after being expelled from the House of Representatives, former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., expressed a desire to return to Congress.
The House voted Dec. 1 to expel Santos after an ethics report accused him of converting campaign donations for his own use. He became just the sixth member in the chamber's history to be ousted by colleagues.
Upon leaving the Capitol after the vote, Santos said: "Why would I want to stay here? To hell with this place."
However, during a radio appearance early Tuesday, the 35-year-old Santos spoke differently.
"I'm not done with public service. I want to go back to Congress," he told radio host Frank Morano on "The Other Side of Midnight" on WABC. "I'm not saying today. I'm not saying tomorrow.
"I have a lot of things I need to take care of first, I think we all know. But I do have hopes of trying to regain the trust of the American people and going in there because I will continue to expose and root out the rot in our federal government. That's my goal.”
Santos, who has also been accused of lying about his experience, faces 23 criminal charges for his conduct, including wire fraud and theft of public funds, The Hill reported.
The outlet said Santos and federal prosecutors reportedly have neared a plea deal in recent days.
Santos told Morano that the Department of Justice was "above board" and "professional," and called the House Ethics Committee investigation into him "a political assassination" and a "joke."
"I'm not asking for people to like me," he said. "I’m not asking for people to have sympathy. I just want people to see the facts, and those are the facts."
A special election for Santos' vacant seat is set for Feb. 13.
Former Rep. Tom Suozzi is New York Democrats' choice to replace Santos in the state's 3rd Congressional District.
Republicans, who have not named an opponent to Suozzi, have until Jan. 4 to do so. The winner will serve the remainder of Santos’ term.
"I would like to see a conservative with the same backbone as me," Santos said after being asked who he would like to see succeed him, "but unfortunately the Republican Party is about to nominate either a Democrat donor [Mike Sapraicone], who donated almost $40,000 to Tom Suozzi’s gubernatorial race, or a registered Democrat who is elected as a Republican."
He was referring to Mazi Melesa Pilip, an Ethiopian Jewish refugee who served in the Israeli Defense Forces, who has been enrolled as a Democrat since 2012 despite currently, and once previously, holding office in the Nassau County Legislature as a Republican.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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