George Santos - latest: Mitt Romney tells congressman ‘you don’t belong here’ as House Ethics probe expected

Scandal-plagued New YorkRepublican George Santos was confronted by Republican senator Mitt Romney during the State of the Union last night.

Mr Romney reportedly told his party colleague: “You don’t belong here,” in a tense exchange that took place in the House of Representatives chamber ahead of president Joe Biden’s address.

Mr Romney later said to CNN that he criticised Mr Santos “trying to shake hands” with the president and senators “given the fact that he’s under ethics investigation”.

“He should be sitting in the back row and staying quiet instead of parading in front of the president and people coming into the room,” he was quoted as saying.

It comes as speaker Kevin McCarthy has said that Mr Santos is expected to face an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

Mr McCarthy said that the House will take measures in accordance with the findings of the probe, CNN reported.

Mr Santos told CNN he’s “not concerned” by the prospect of an ethics probe.

“You’re saying that the freedom of speech of my constituents is a distraction to my work?” Mr Santos asked. “Do you think people are a distraction to the work I’m doing here?”

Key points

• George Santos’ plan to take 9/11 responder to SOTU – after lie that mother died in attacks

• John Feal leads 9/11 community outrage to George Santos

• Constituents head to DC to hand-deliver resignation demands

• George Santos’ latest résumé fabrication: producing Spiderman on Broadway

• George Santos admits he ‘lied to everyone’

• Santos treasurer quits campaign – days after he falsely named a new one

WATCH: Mitt Romney and George Santos have testy exchange at State of the Union

11:30 , Rachel Sharp

Constituent notes that 400 people from Long Island died on 9/11

11:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Ben Marzouk, a constituent of Mr Santos on Long Island, said during a press conference on Tuesday that “this is a community that on 9/11, we lost over 400 people on Long Island alone. I was down there. I was three blocks away when it happened”.

“I know a lot of people who were obviously affected by it. We live next to a community by the name of Manhasset, New York. Manhasset, New York, had approximately 60 funerals within a two and a half to three week span. Two to three funerals a day,” he added.

“That's not funny to say that your mother was part of that,” he said referring to a claim made by Mr Santos. “You have to be really psychologically impaired to throw that around like it's nickels. I am disappointed with ... McCarthy ... It's not difficult to see ... what's right and wrong. ... do the right thing. Expel him. Have some respect. Have some dignity. And do the right thing.”

George Santos’ latest resume lie? He produced Spider-Man on Broadway

10:00 , John Bowden

George Santos has yet another accusation of deceiving people for campaign donations to answer for.

The latest accusations come from Bloomberg, which reports that the congressman himself told multiple people that he was involved in the production of the Broadway flop Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark during his bid for a House seat in 2022 — a false fact that was apparently part of his pitch for donations.

The news triggered a statement of condemnation from the show’s actual producers, who reached out to Entertainment Weekly through a spokesperson: “Of all the tribulations the producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark had to endure, we are very pleased, proud and relieved to report working with George Santos was not one of them.”

Read more:

George Santos’ latest resume lie? He produced Spider-Man on Broadway

VIDEO: Constituent Jody Kass Finkel calls Santos a ‘grifter’

09:00 , Gustaf Kilander

‘He has tarnished my district and created an embarrassment’ for the GOP, constituent says

08:00 , Gustaf.Kilander

Ben Marzouk, a constituent of Mr Santos on Long Island, said during a press conference on Tuesday that “he has tarnished my district and created an embarrassment to a party that should not be defined by him”.

“Republicans standing next to him proves that the nation cannot tell the difference between right and wrong, cannot tell the difference between a hard-working congressman, an honest congressman or congresswoman and an individual who is just simply a con man,” he added. “Individuals who do the right thing, who are honourable and a person who was just a liar.”

Santos constituents deliver petition demanding his removal from Congress

07:00 , Gustaf.Kilander

ICYMI: Mitt Romney told George Santos he doesn’t belong in Congress

06:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta

George Santos was confronted by Mitt Romney, the anti-Trump Republican senator from Utah, on Tuesday as the embattled representative arrived in the House chamber for president Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

John Bowden reports:

Romney told George Santos he doesn’t belong in Congress during tense exchange

‘People constantly go to his office. He’s never there,’ constituent says

06:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Ben Marzouk, a constituent of Mr Santos on Long Island, said during a press conference on Tuesday that “we live about a mile away from his office. People constantly go to his office. He’s never there. You call the phone, you call the office number. Nobody picks up”.

At the start of his remarks, Mr Marzouk said that “we made the trip here today to really express our outrage with George Santos. We're here to push the FEC as well to continue their investigation to push the Democrats to push the Republicans to push the independents to get this guy expelled”.

Santos mocked for calling Biden's address 'gaslighting'

05:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Republican representative George Santos is facing backlash on social media after he hit out at president Joe Biden’s State of the Union address and called it “gaslighting.”

Mr Santos posted on Twitter: “SOTU category is: GASLIGHTING!”

Soon the New York lawmaker was called out for his own alleged gaslighting of voters – for embellishing parts of his resume. He is expected to face a probe by the House Ethics Committee.

VIDEO: Scripps News Investigates George Santos’ $199.99 campaign spending

05:00 , The Independent

'You don't belong here' says Mitt Romney to Santos

04:48 , Sravasti Dasgupta

There was a tense exchange between Republicans Mitt Romney and George Santos at the State of the Union address.

Mr Romney reportedly told his party colleague: “You don’t belong here,” in an exchange that took place in the House of Representatives chamber ahead of president Joe Biden’s address.

Mr Romney later said to CNN that he criticised Mr Santos “trying to shake hands” with the president and senators “given the fact that he’s under ethics investigation”.

“He should be sitting in the back row and staying quiet instead of parading in front of the president and people coming into the room,” he was quoted as saying.

Later Mr Santos posted on Twitter: “Hey Mitt Romney just a reminder that you will NEVER be PRESIDENT!”

Here’s how George Santos could still be removed from office

04:15 , John Bowden

George Santos’s colleagues in the House could end up being the final arbiters of judgement for the scandal-ridden New York Republican.

Despite wave after wave of revelations surrounding his past and present fictions and lies, the embattled congressman has remained adamant that he will remain in office. Even in the face of members of his own party calling for his ouster, Mr Santos has stood firm.

But none of that may matter if the machinations of the US House of Representatives conspire against him.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has now confirmed that Santos is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

“Ethics is moving through, and if ethics finds something, we’ll take action. Right now we’re not allowing him to be on committees from the standpoint of the questions that have arisen,” he said.

Read more:

Here’s how George Santos could still be removed from office

‘He’s a joke’: Adam Schiff goes after George Santos

03:30 , Gustaf Kilander

VOICES: Enough is enough, George Santos

02:45 , Susan Wagner

A busload of 50 constituents representing NY-03 are on their way to Washington DC to confront Speaker Kevin McCarthy and demand that he take action to remove George Santos from office. Every day Santos remains in Congress is an insult to the more than 700,000 residents of NY-03. It leaves us without meaningful representation in Congress – and we are angry.

We are making sure McCarthy hears us as it seems our voices have not travelled from Long Island, despite the 24/7 coverage by local, national, and international press.

Santos is a grifter and now he is grifting off the US taxpayer. So long as he has a seat in Congress, he receives a salary of 174,000 a year and benefits. He made a fool of our district, he made a fool of the Republican party, and now he is making a fool of the US taxpayers. Allowing an individual with this track record to remain in Congress defies common sense. The US Constitution anticipated a George Santos and provided an escape hatch in such a scenario —McCarthy can call for a vote and when two thirds vote in favor of his expulsion, Santos is out. So why hasn’t McCarthy called for one?

Read more:

Enough is enough, George Santos

Constituents swamp Santos office but are turned away

02:00 , Gustaf Kilander

It’s time ‘to end the tragedy and the comedy that is George Santos,’ NY Dem says

01:15 , Gustaf Kilander

New York Democrat Ritchie Torres said during a press conference on Tuesday that Mr Santos’s “only reason for remaining in public office is to maintain leverage for a plea bargain in the event of criminal prosecution”.

“His only purpose is to be a punchline for comedians, but the time has come to end the tragedy and the comedy that is George Santos,” he added. “You should no longer be deprived of the representation that you deserve. And so I will not stop. I will not stop until George Santos is held accountable. And we must call out the hypocrisy of speaker Kevin McCarthy. The House Republicans came here promising to drain the swamp but they refuse to drain the greatest swamp of the mall, the Santos swamp and it's time to drain it.”

9/11 activist blasts George Santos for taking survivor to State of the Union after tragedy ‘lies’: ‘Piece of s***’

00:30 , Rachel Sharp

9/11 first responder and activist John Feal has blasted George Santos for inviting a volunteer firefighter to the State of the Union following his alleged lies about the tragedy – as he claimed the congressman has made further false claims to survivors of the terror attacks.

Speaking to The Independent on Tuesday morning, Mr Feal said that the disgraced Republican congressman is “using the 9/11 community for his redemption tour” and is “disrespecting” all the lives that were lost and continue to be lost because of that day.

“Every time George Santos says 9/11 it disrespects those we lost and those we continue to lose,” he said.

“9/11 is a wound that doesn’t go away… And he’s making it hurt.

“He’s a piece of s*** and I can never forgive him. He’s a vile, repugnant, disgusting human being.”

Read more:

Exclusive: 9/11 activist blasts Santos for taking survivor to State of the Union

NY Dem says Santos ‘ability to govern’ has been ‘crippled by a complete collapse of credibility'

Tuesday 7 February 2023 23:45 , Gustaf Kilander

New York Democrat Ritchie Torres said during a press conference on Tuesday that “every day is a new day with George Santos. Every day we find out about a new lie that he has told or new law that he is broken. Every day, he brings new embarrassment to the people of New York, to the people of Long Island and it is time for him to resign”.

“His ability to govern has been crippled by a complete collapse of credibility. According to polling, the majority of Republicans in his district want him to resign. The majority of House Republicans in New York have called upon him to resign. His constituents want nothing to do with George Santos. His colleagues want nothing to do with George Santos. Even the close associate of a sanctioned Russian oligarch wants to do with George Santos,” he added.

George Santos: Every lie disgraced Republican Congressman has been accused of making

Tuesday 7 February 2023 23:00 , John Bowden

It can be difficult keeping up with the list of fictions that George Santos has been accused of telling, admitted telling, or merely been caught spinning red-handed following a contradictory statement.

But, do not fret: The Independent is here, and we’re keeping track of the whole list of lies even as it continues to grow — both in number and in the sheer scale of the humiliation that it presents for not just Mr Santos, who remains adamant that he will serve two years in office as representative for New York’s third district, but for the Republican House caucus as a whole.

Home state Republicans and Democrats alike are calling for his resignation from Congress while major conservative groups are vowing not to work with him. Still, he has found a niche for himself among the GOP’s far-right Maga caucus, among fellows like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz.

Read more:

Every lie George Santos has been accused of making

Amid mounting calls for his resignation, Santos seen speaking to members on House floor

Tuesday 7 February 2023 22:30 , Gustaf Kilander

New York Democrat says it’s time for McCarthy to ‘force’ Santos from Congress

Tuesday 7 February 2023 22:00 , Gustaf Kilander

New York Democrat Ritchie Torres said during a press conference on Tuesday that “of the 535 members in Congress, there's no one who poses a greater threat to the integrity of the institution” than Mr Santos.

“And the fact that George Santos resigned from his committees is an admission of guilt. And if George Santos is too corrupt and too compromised to be seated on a committee, then it logically follows that he's too corrupt and too compromised to be seated in the United States Congress,” he added. “And it is obvious that Kevin McCarthy forced him out of his committee, and it's time for McCarthy to force him out of the United States Congress.”

‘It is time for George Santos to resign,’ New York Democrat says

Tuesday 7 February 2023 21:30 , Gustaf Kilander

New York Democrat Dan Goldman said during a press conference on Tuesday that “if the Republican Party wants to wrap their arms around George Santos, then they can continue to go ahead”.

“This should not be partisan. And in New York-03, it's not partisan, because the overwhelming majority of Republicans also think that George Santos should resign. Republican members of Congress in New York have called on George Santos to resign. And it is now time once and for all, listening to the voters and constituents of New York-03 who are down here to make their voices heard. It is time for George Santos to resign,” he added.

New York Democrat says Santos removal is ‘going to have to come from the top’

Tuesday 7 February 2023 21:00 , Gustaf Kilander

New York Democrat Dan Goldman argued on Tuesday that all the lies from Mr Santos “are more than enough to not only bring him disrepute to bring this hallowed body disrepute, but to bring the Republican Party disrepute as well”.

“And so the question then becomes, why won't Kevin McCarthy and Elise Stefanik urge George Santos to resign?” he asked of Republican House leadership. “We know George Santos is not going to resign on his own. He's making more money in Congress than he's ever legitimately made before. What's his incentive to resign?”

“It's going to have to come from the top. But what do we know about Kevin McCarthy and Elise Stefanik? That they also knew about George Santos as lies during the campaign. Are they not pushing him to resign because they are concerned that George Santos has information that may be damaging to them about their role in the fraud scheme?” he wondered aloud.

“We have to ask these questions because we've never seen a fraudster continue to get support by a Republican Party in this Congress and make no mistake about it. George Santos for as long as he is in Congress is a member of the Republican Party,” he added.

New York Democrat says ethics probe is a delay tactic

Tuesday 7 February 2023 20:30 , Gustaf Kilander

New York Democrat Dan Goldman said on Tuesday during a press conference that the ethics committee investigation into Mr Santos is a delay tactic.

“So now they're going to punt to the Ethics Committee. Now they're going to make the case ‘Oh, well, we have to wait to see what the ethics committee is going to do,’” he said.

“But let's remember the ethics complaint and the ethics investigation is only going to focus on his financial disclosures and his campaign finance because the law to this point does not prohibit someone from lying about their education, from lying about their employment history, from lying about their military experience from lying about their ethnicity from lying up and down the level,” he added.

Santos confronted by reporters after ethics probe announcement

Tuesday 7 February 2023 20:00 , Gustaf Kilander

New York Democrat says McCarthy is ‘backtracking’ on Santos because of ‘incredible advocacy’ from voters

Tuesday 7 February 2023 19:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Dan Goldman, representing the 10th district of New York, said during a press conference on Tuesday that “we have the voters who are here, and we have information from lots more voters all around the district that clearly indicates that if they had known about the lies and deception, they would have never voted for George Santos”.

He accused Speaker McCarthy of “saying that you can deceive the voters, you can defraud the voters. But as long as the voters voted for you, then it doesn't matter”.

“Today, we're starting to see him backtracking in part because of the incredible advocacy of the folks who are here. Because the voters have been hurt, and the voters of the Third District want George Santos to resign,” he said.

Goldman slams Santos and McCarthy at press conference with constituents

Tuesday 7 February 2023 19:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Santos is ‘squatting in our seat,’ organizer says

Tuesday 7 February 2023 18:40 , Gustaf Kilander

Jody Cass Finkel, the coordinator of the group Concerned Citizens of New York–03, said on Tuesday during a press conference at Capitol Hill that “we are an ad hoc group, nonpartisan residents from the district”.

“We have an extremely narrow scope, the organization was just created a few weeks ago, and we have only one goal and that is to have George George Santos removed from squatting in our seat in the House of Representatives,” she said.

“We are here because speaker McCarthy apparently cannot hear us when we speak from Long Island,” she added. “So we had to come to Washington to make sure he hears us.”

“You're turning a deaf ear to our needs. But the country is beyond giving Santos the benefit of the doubt,” she said.

Torres calls Santos the ‘greatest fiction writer in the history of Congress’

Tuesday 7 February 2023 18:20 , Gustaf Kilander

Representative Ritchie Torres, representing New York’s 15th congressional district, said during a press conference on Tuesday that it’s time for Mr Santos to resign.

“I give him credit. He's the greatest fiction writer in the history of Congress. I have trouble keeping track with his lies, but he has so far pretended to be a brain cancer survivor and a Broadway producer of spider man and a volleyball champion, and a survivor of an assassination attempt on Fifth Avenue,” he said.

“The Lies of George Santos are every bit as outrageous and outlandish as the man himself,” he added.

‘I Believe In Santa More Than Santos'

Tuesday 7 February 2023 18:06 , Gustaf Kilander

Constituents and members of congress hold press conference to call on Santos to resign

Tuesday 7 February 2023 18:03 , Gustaf Kilander

Santos’s SOTU guest in DC to ‘bring attention to firefighters with neuropathy’

Tuesday 7 February 2023 18:00 , Joe Sommerlad

Michael Weinstock, who is set to be the guest of embattled New York Republican George Santos at Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, said in a statement that “I have travelled to Washington to bring attention to firefighters with neuropathy. This is an issue that transcends politics and speaks to my heart”.

“Michael’s story is one of many that have yet to be told to a wider audience,” Mr Santos said during a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on Monday, explaining his reason for extending the invitation.

However, the situation is complicated by the fact that one of the lies Mr Santos has been accused of telling concerns the death of his mother, Fatima Devolder, who he said was killed in the terror attacks while working as an executive for a financial firm at the Twin Towers.

“9/11 claimed my mother’s life,” Mr Santos said on Twitter on 21 July last year, only for The New York Times to debunk the story and report that she in fact died 15 years later in 2016 and may not even have been in the country at the time of the al-Qaeda attacks.

George Santos expected to face House Ethics probe, Kevin McCarthy reveals

Tuesday 7 February 2023 17:36 , Gustaf Kilander

Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said that scandal-plagued New York Republican Representative George Santos is expected to face an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

Mr McCarthy said that the House will take measures in accordance with the findings of the possible probe, CNN reported.

The speaker initially said “yes” to CNN when asked on Tuesday if Mr Santos was under investigation, but later added that he was simply the subject of complaints made to the ethics committee.

The speaker was asked about Mr Santos’s constituents asking him to resign.

“Ethics is moving through, and if ethics finds something, we’ll take action. Right now we’re not allowing him to be on committees from the standpoint of the questions that have arisen,” Mr McCarthy said earlier on Tuesday.

Mr Santos told CNN he’s “not concerned” by an ethics probe. He told reporters that he was looking forward to welcoming residents from his district who travelled to Capitol Hill to call on him to resign.

Read more:

George Santos is under a House Ethics probe, Kevin McCarthy reveals

‘MAGAworld’ offers ‘liberation and redemption’ for Santos, conservative commentator writes

Tuesday 7 February 2023 17:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Conservative political commentator Charlie Sykes wrote on the Bulwark that the “moral universe” and the media of today’s right-wing political actors “offer liberation and redemption, where mediocrity and venality can shelter together under a pugnacious amorality” to individuals such as Mr Santos.

“What is the attraction of TrumpWorld for the worst people in the world?” Mr Sykes asked.

“In return for the requisite fawning and tribal signaling, MAGAworld created a moral free-fire zone, a force field against accountability. Too dumb, corrupt, or sleazy for the rest of world? Not a problem,” he added. “This is definitely a club that George Santos wants to belong to.”

Fellow New York Republican freshman calls on Santos to resign

Tuesday 7 February 2023 17:10 , Gustaf Kilander

Fellow New York Republican freshman Representative has called on Mr Santos to resign from Congress.

Marc Molinaro represents the state’s 19th district since earlier this year.

“As I’ve said consistently, I think he ought to resign and really take stock of himself and start being honest, not only with the people he serves, but with himself,” he told CNN.

Santos attempts to find shield from scandals in ‘post-shame MAGA'

Tuesday 7 February 2023 16:50 , Gustaf Kilander

Conservative political commentator Charlie Sykes wrote that Mr Santos wore an AR-15 pin because he needs the protection of a political tribe.

“Obviously, the pins are designed to troll and trigger. But, there’s something else going on here as well,” Mr Sykes wrote on the Bulwark.

Mr Santos is in a spiral of “scandal and disgrace, and desperately [needs] a tribe because political tribes provide protection,” Mr Sykes noted.

“The distinctive attraction of a post-shame MAGA is that virtually any sort of miscreant, charlatan, or snollygoster can shelter beneath its wings,” he added. “So Santos’s choice of new friends is not an accident.”

ChatGPT draws blank when asked to write Santos speech

Tuesday 7 February 2023 16:30 , The Associated Press

The ChatGPT bot drew a blank when asked for a speech from George Santos, the new Republican congressman from New York who was caught fictionalizing his past. It seemed to sense, though, that there was something make-believe in the picture.

“George Santos is not a widely recognized public figure or historical figure,” the app responded. “There is no widely known information about a person by this name in the public domain. It’s possible that the name was created for a specific use or scenario, such as a fictional character or a person in a private setting.”

Read more:

ChatGPT bot channels history to pen State of Union speech

Concerned Citizens of NY-03 head to DC for press conference calling for Santos expulsion

Tuesday 7 February 2023 16:10 , Gustaf Kilander

Ahead of their planned press conference in Washington, DC on Tuesday afternoon, members of the group “concerned citizens of NY-03” shared images from their gathering this morning as they got on the bus head to the capital.

Lee Zeldin dumps treasurer also employed by Santos

Tuesday 7 February 2023 15:50 , Gustaf Kilander

Former New York Representative Lee Zeldin, the 2022 GOP nominee for governor in the state, is starting a new federal fundraising political action committee, leaving out the treasurer also employed by Mr Santos.

“We will be announcing a new federal PAC that is being stood up right now utilizing a different treasurer,” Mr Zeldin said on Monday, according to Politico.

Mr Zeldin appeared to want to put some distance between himself and Mr Santos and the treasurer, Nancy Marks.

“The treasurer has something like close to 200 different accounts,” he said.

Regarding Mr Santos, Mr Zeldin said, “I don’t see how he is possibly going to regain the trust of his constituents”.

But he declined to say he should resign.

“Whatever his expiration date is as a member of the House, I don’t have that answer. He is seated,” he said.

“There are many investigations going on. Different levels of government, FEC, House Ethics Committee, an international investigation apparently going on as well. I don’t know whether or not he’s going to stay there for the remainder of his term,” he said.

George Santos’ State of the Union guest admits he’s wary of being ‘sullied’ by congressman’s 9/11 lie

Tuesday 7 February 2023 15:30 , Joe Sommerlad

The former firefighter and veteran of 9/11 who is set to be the guest of embattled New York Republican George Santos at Joe Biden’s State of the Union address has admitted he is wary of being “sullied” by the congressman’s lies.

Mr Santos - still facing multiple investigations over a series of lies he is alleged to have told about his background - will be accompanied by Michael Weinstock, a lawyer who served as a volunteer firefighter in the Big Apple between 1990 and 2001 and is understood to have helped rescue people trapped under rubble at Ground Zero after the terror attacks on the World Trade Center of 11 September 2001.

Mr Weinstock is a Democrat who ran for the same district now represented by Mr Santos in 2020 and reportedly suffers from neuropathy, a neurological condition he says is related to his time as an emergency worker.

In a press release accompanying the announcement, the freshman congressman said that his guest’s condition “is a direct result of the dust and toxins released from the World Trade Center, and the condition is not covered under the World Trade Center Health Program.”

The invitation is therefore intended to draw attention to the plight of New Yorkers still suffering from 9/11-related illnesses two decades on and the need for expanded health coverage.

Read more:

George Santos’ State of the Union guest wary of being ‘sullied’ by 9/11 lie