George Santos, the former Long Island U.S. Representative facing numerous charges of fraud, etc., is on the warpath after being expelled from Congress yesterday in a rare bipartisan vote. He's now accused fellow New York Republican Nicole Malliotakis of illegal things (and, obliquely, of being in the closet), promised ethics complaints against New Jersey Representative Rob Menendez (son of the indicted Democratic U.S. Senator with the same name), issued a campaign finance complaint against Rep. Mike Lawler, and promises more to come.
"Congressman Lawler owns portion of Checkmate Strategies and he uses the same firm that he is a beneficiary of to pay for services related to his campaign," Santos wrote on social media, part of an extensive thread taking aim at his new targets. "The concerning questions are; is Mr Lawler engaging in laundering money form his campaign to his firm then into his own pocket? I will let the Office of Congressional Ethics be the judge of that."
The internet is erupting with joy at the prospect of Santos bringing the House down on his way out the door. Who does not suspect that there are many congresspersons engaged in shady business, after all? Some of it is in the open, especially stock trading on insider information—an explicit exemption from the law that members of Congress enjoy. The hope that by making a meal of George Santos, they've given him an opportunity to unravel rackets that even prosecutors can't touch.
But here's the thing, readers. There's a problem with George. It's the problem that got him his donors and his seat. It's the problem that led to his downfall, a problem that all should bear in mind before they get too enthusiastic about his disclosures now: George Santos lies.
He does it constantly. He lies bigly. He lies in small and seemingly irrelevant ways. If something he says is true, it is out of lucky coincidence between bullshit and the facts. If he knew any of this were true he would have used it when and where it could help him, instead of dumping in a fit of narcissistic rage on Twitter.
Still, here's hoping!
