Scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos faced fresh calls to resign on Tuesday after federal prosecutors filed 10 new charges against the first-term New York Republican, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States.
The new charges come on top of the 13 criminal counts Santos was indicted on earlier this year. Santos, who is running for reelection in 2024, pleaded not guilty to those charges, which included money laundering and theft of public funds.
Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement that Santos “is charged with stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the [Federal Election Commission] and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign.”
“Santos falsely inflated the campaign’s reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen,” Peace added. “This office will relentlessly pursue criminal charges against anyone who uses the electoral process as an opportunity to defraud the public and our government institutions.”
The new charges prompted another round of demands for Santos to step down — calls that he’s been facing since before he was even sworn in to the U.S. House.
“Santos’ outrageous and deceptive conduct has now resulted in a much expanded new indictment. His continued presence in Congress is an embarrassment and a disservice to his constituents,” Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, wrote on social media. “He needs to resign.”
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), who has been pushing for Santos’ expulsion from Congress for months amid Republican opposition, noted Tuesday that Santos will soon be in a position to vote for the next House speaker despite the 23-count indictment.
“He must resign immediately,” Garcia wrote.
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