Legal expert weighs in on the future of Rep. George Santos
May 10, 2023, 8:30 PM
FILE - Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves a House GOP conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 25, 2023. On Wednesday, May 10, 2023, Santos was indicted on 13 federal charges. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. George Santos (R-New York) was indicted on 13 federal charges on Wednesday. The freshman congressman has pled not guilty to those charges. He has repeatedly said he will not resign and plans to seek reelection next year.
One of the charges he is accused of is misleading donors by persuading them to donate to a social welfare organization, which is not a campaign fund. He is also accused of collecting unemployment benefits while still employed.
KSL Legal Analyst and co-host of KSL at Night Greg Skordas joined Dave & Dujanovic on Wednesday to discuss Santos’s future in the House of Representatives.
The charges facing Rep. George Santos
Dave Noriega asked, “Let’s start with the criminal charges. Greg, what do you make of them?”
“They’re really serious,” Skordas said.
Skordas says the 13 felonies carry a prison term of at least five years in some cases. The felonies Santos is facing includes seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering.
“He’s currently in custody in New York and is appearing before a judge (Wednesday),” Skordas said. “I mean, this is quite a serious indictment.”
Debbie Dujanovic asked, “How bold and brazen is it for someone to claim on a disclosure form with the House of Representatives that he’s earning $750,000 a year and is sitting on as much as $5 million in the bank account?”
“It’s almost pathological, Debbie,” Skordas said. “It really is. … It’s almost like he felt that he would never be challenged on these things or he would never be caught.”
Can a member of the House lose his or her seat?
Noriega says he know what happens when a president is impeached the line of succession. “But what happens in the House of Representatives?” Noriega asked. “What happens to his seat?”
Skordas says members of both parties are begging Santos to resign.
“He is presumed innocent,” Skordas said. “And as such, he cannot be removed from Congress right now. Even if he’s convicted, believe it or not, he couldn’t necessarily be removed.”
Skordas says that if he is convicted of a felony, he wouldn’t be able to participate in any votes, thus making him useless.
“You would think that if he had any integrity at all,” Skordas said. “He would resign and face the music on the charges and what not. And let someone take his position who’s got some integrity. But we’re just not seeing any of that with this George Santos.”
Listen to the entire segment.
Dave & Dujanovic can be heard weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon. on KSL NewsRadio. Users can find the show on the KSL NewsRadio website and app, as well as Apple Podcasts and Google Play.
