George Santos claims if House expels him it will ‘haunt’ lawmakers in the future – US politics live

The indicted congressman George Santos faces a US House expulsion vote tomorrow.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Friday on whether to expel the scandal-plagued Republican, who represents New York’s third district, Reuters reports.

Santos faces criminal corruption charges and new accusations that he misspent campaign money, according to Republican aides.

Several lawmakers have introduced motions targeting the first-term lawmaker after a report by his House colleagues suggested that federal prosecutors should bring additional charges against Santos, 35, who fabricated large aspects of his life story in his election campaign.

In response to what his future plans are, Santos said: “I’m going to do whatever I want. Whatever comes my way, I have the desire to stay very much involved in public policy and advocacy for specific issues.”

He added that he will do whatever in his power to see Donald Trump back in the White House in 2024.

“I’m not running for re-election because I chose not to put myself, my family through this process because here’s the reality when it comes down… I would have an uphill battle against the press, I will have an uphill battle against the party,” said Santos.

“There’s a point in time where you just say, you know, enough is enough. I’m 35-years old which doesn’t mean that it’s goodbye forever,” he continued.

“I know they’re all judge, jury and executioner because evidence isn’t really conviction or a verdict and allegations neither,” said Santos.

“I mean, the way they’re looking at this, they just needed a reason to do it,” he added, referring to the ethics committee.

“I’m proud of my voting record. I’m proud of the work I got to do… I leave here no regrets as far as my voting goes,” said Santos.

“No regrets as far as my advocacy bills go, every single issue from healthcare…with gay rights abroad or with foreign aid, I really stand firm that I’m proud of the work that I put forward. I wish I could do more,” he added.

In response to a question to whether he expects the expulsion efforts to pass, Santos said: “I don’t know.”

He went on to add, “Today is my second year wedding anniversary and I’m going to enjoy it and try to forget the fact that it’s been one year from hell.”

“I will be filing a slew of complaints in the coming hours of today and tomorrow to make sure that we keep the playing field even because at this point, I have been nothing generous and kind with my time,” said Santos.

“I am not unpacking the report, It is counterproductive for me to do so at this time. There will be a time that I will unpack it entirely and go line by line,” he said.

“The reality of it is it’s all theater,” said Santos.

“It’s theater for the cameras, theater for the microphones, theater for the American people at the expense of the American people,” he added.

“Nobody here has ever seen ethics reports of any other members whose been under investigation but yet again, changing precedent for me,” said Santos.

“It seems like that’s all fair game so there we go. They go ahead and release this report – it’s littered in hyperbole, littered in opinion,” he added.

“It’s amazing to me that this House continues to push me out,” George Santos told reporters.

“If the House wants to start different precedent and expel me, that is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body because this will haunt them in their future,” he added.

Freshman Republican congressman and notorious fabulist George Santos is holding a press conference this morning ahead of an expected vote from the House where members will decide whether or not he gets to stay as a member of the august body.

The New York representative was elected last year but quickly saw his résumé torn to pieces by investigative reporting and past actions subjected to legal scrutiny. He admitted embellishing that résumé.

In addition, Santos has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal fraud charges but has not yet stood trial. He is accused of making tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges on credit cards belonging to campaign donors.

Good morning, US politics live blog readers, it’s going to be a lively day in Washington as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on Friday on whether to expel New York Republican congressman George Santos, and the freshman fabulist is due to hold a press conference on Capitol Hill at 8am ET, buckle in.

We have a separate live blog on the death of Henry Kissinger, you can follow that here.

What’s coming up:

• New York congressman George Santos is holding a press conference in Washington, due at 8am US eastern time today, ahead of an expected vote on whether the House will take the very rare step of expelling him as a member.

• The House of Representatives is due to vote tomorrow on a number of issues, including whether to boot out Santos, who is accused of breaking the law with his use of campaign funds as well as being a serial liar. He’s refused to resign. The vote was expected today but has been pushed back.

• The White House media briefing is due at 1pm ET with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

• Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a struggling hopeful for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, is going to debate California’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom (seen by many as a decent presidential prospect) tonight at 9pm ET, for reasons best known to themselves.

• GOP Trump challenger and rising prospect Nikki Haley is launching her first ad and, after being boosted by right-winger Charles Koch’s PAC earlier this week has also received encouraging words from banking giant JP Morgan Chase’s chief exec Jamie Dimon.