Republican Pinocchio on Steroids Elected to Congress
The House should expel George Santos for serial lies to voters
Republican George Santos from Long Island was elected to Congress in November by playing Pinocchio on steroids. Mr. Santos has confessed his campaign was fueled by serial lies about his background, career, and finances. An inexhaustive list:
He falsely claimed he worked for Goldman Sachs.
He falsely claimed he worked for Citibank.
He falsely claimed he owned multiple real estate properties.
He falsely claimed Devolder Organization of which he is the sole owner had $80 million in assets.
He falsely insinuated Jewish ancestry; and that his family included Holocaust survivors.
He falsely denied his guilt of check fraud in Brazil.
Santos has lamely retorted:
“A lot of people overstate on their resumes or twist a little bit, or ingratiate themselves. I’m not saying I’m not guilty of that, I’m just saying I’ve done so much good work in my career.”
But if Santos has done so good work, why did he descend to serial lies which would eclipse the good work in the minds of voters?
Mr. Santos obviously flunked civics. Public figures, said George Washington, should set a standard to which the wise and honest may repair.
Simply lying to gain political office by hoping to deceive voters, without more, is still protected speech under the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Alvarez (2012). There, the Court held the Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional as applied to a candidate for public office who had lied in asserting he had been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Moreover, Santos cannot be excluded from Congress because of his serial lies to voters. The Supreme Court held in Powell v. McCormack (1969), that age, residency, and citizenship are the sole constitutional requirements for entering Congress.
But the House of Representatives is empowered under Article I, section 5 of the Constitution expel a member by a two-thirds majority. James Traficant was expelled in 2002 for filing false tax returns and related criminal wrongdoing.
Congress is too important to our constitutional universe to be left to scoundrels or fabulists like Santos. His presence in the House would be as ignominious as Roman Emperor Caligula’s plan to appoint his horse Incitatus to the Roman Senate before he was assassinated. The Republican House Speaker, whoever that may be when the new Congress convenes on January 3, 2023, should take the lead in expelling Santos. Let him run for re-election based on the belatedly discovered truths about him.