George Santos is not leaving quietly.
In what may have been his last congressional press conference Thursday, the lying Long Island Republican urged his fellow lawmakers to reject the precedent that would be set by “bullying” him from office via an expulsion vote — before introducing his own resolution to remove Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) for falsely pulling a fire alarm two months ago.
“It’s just an unfortunate circumstance that I have to sit here and watch … Congress waste the American people’s time over and over again on something that is the power of the people,” Santos, 35, told reporters during a chilly, early morning availability outside the Capitol.
“They are trying to join me to the group of three Confederates and two people convicted in a court of law,” he said of the effort to oust him.
“So if I am to get expelled tomorrow, I will be number six in the history — the first Republican and the only one without a conviction or without having committed treason,” Santos added.
When asked why he has not resigned, Santos shot back: “Because if I leave, they win. If I leave, the bullies take place — this is bullying.”
“Now had that been any other person, had it been one of the members of the media, had it been a Republican member of Congress, we all know that that person would have been charged with obstructing a congressional hearing,” he went on in reference to Bowman.
“Just like the somewhat 140 people sitting in prison right now because of Jan. 6, but Jamaal Bowman gets a pass.”
Santos said his proposed Bowman expulsion was intended to “keep the playing field even.”
In a statement, Bowman responded: “No one in Congress, or anywhere in America, takes soon-to-be former Congressman George Santos seriously. This is just another meaningless stunt in his long history of cons, antics, and outright fraud.”
Santos, who fabricated details about his personal and professional history while running for Congress in 2022, said the move to expel him “will haunt” future House lawmakers, letting “mere allegations [be] sufficient to have members removed from office when duly elected by their people in their respective states and districts.”
Santos also dismissed a House Ethics Committee investigation of him as a “slanderous report” after it revealed new campaign finance violations not already contained in his 23-count indictment from the Eastern District of New York.
“No decent cop would bring this to a prosecutor or a DA and say, ‘Here’s our report. Go ahead and charge him,’” he huffed.
“This is what the Ethics Committee put out,” he added. “God bless them and what they think they’re doing and what their work is. You know, I believe they do good work when it’s relevant, but this ain’t it.”
In a statement before the report was released, the House panel announced it had “contacted approximately 40 witnesses, reviewed more than 170,000 pages of documents, and authorized 37 subpoenas” for the probe.
The sweeping investigation revealed Santos had spent campaign funds on lavish trips, spa treatments, Botox and OnlyFans subscriptions, in addition to having falsified loans and omitted line items from federal campaign filings.
Santos told reporters he had cooperated with the investigation and provided them most of the documents requested through his legal counsel.
The same committee voted last week against opening an investigation into Bowman for falsely pulling a fire alarm in a House office building while the lower chamber was preparing to vote on a bill to avert a partial government shutdown Sept. 30.
The “Squad” member pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor last month and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine for the incident. As part of an agreement with DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, Bowman’s charges will be dismissed after three months.
Santos announced after his ethics investigation that he would not seek re-election in 2024, but has refused to resign from office.
He nevertheless expects that he will be removed on Friday, mentioning during the press conference that fellow New York GOP Rep. Nick LaLota “said he has 150 [Republican] votes.”
Two-thirds of House members must vote to remove Santos, meaning just around 80 Republicans would need to join all Democrats for seal the ouster.