Colorado Congressman Ken Buck supports expelling Rep. George Santos
Colorado Congressman Ken Buck said he supports expelling embattled Rep. George Santos. This comes in the wake of a damning report from the House Ethics Committee that was released Thursday.
The investigation's findings into the Republican representing New York detailed what congressional investigators said was "substantial evidence" that the embattled congressman tapped into campaign funds to cover his own personal expenses.
The purchases — at luxury retailers, spas, resorts and more — made by Santos while mounting bids for Congress in 2020 and 2022, the first of which was unsuccessful, were uncovered during the course of a review conducted by a four-member investigative subcommittee of the ethics panel into allegations of wrongdoing by the freshman congressman.
"I think that George Santos has shown that he doesn't have the character to serve in Congress and I think that he is likely to be expelled. I think it's going to happen in the next couple of weeks," said Buck.
Federal prosecutors have already charged Santos with 23 alleged crimes, including wire fraud, money laundering and stealing public funds. He has pleaded guilty to all charges.
According to campaign files, bank records and other documents released by the Ethics Committee, the list of personal expenses covered by donors to his 2020 and 2022 campaigns include:
- $4,127 at the luxury store Hermès;
- $2,281 at resorts in Atlantic City;
- "Smaller purchases" at OnlyFans, the subscription-based website where people generally sell adult content, and the makeup store Sephora;
- $1,500 at Mirza Aesthetics, labeled "Botox;"
- $1,400 at Virtual Skin Spa, labeled "Botox;"
- $3,332 for an AirBnB in early July 2022, when Santos was "off at [the] Hampton's for the weekend," according to his campaign's calendar;
- $6,000 at Ferragamo stores;
- $800 cash withdrawal from an ATM at a casino in Maryland;
- $1,000 cash withdrawal from an ATM near Santos' apartment in New York;
- A rent payment