Embattled Rep. George Santos says expulsion attempt is 'bullying'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Indicted U.S. Representative George Santos on Thursday struck a defiant note ahead of an expected vote to expel him from Congress and said he would file a "slew" of complaints against other lawmakers in what could be his final days on Capitol Hill.

"This is bullying," Santos said at a news conference. "It's all theater."

Santos, 35, faces criminal campaign-finance charges and has admitted to fabricating much of his biography. His fellow Republicans have scheduled a vote on his expulsion on Friday.

He has survived one expulsion vote this month, but faces longer odds this time. A bipartisan congressional probe released after the vote found evidence that he spent campaign money on Botox, luxury brands such as Hermes and on OnlyFans, an online platform known for sexual content.

That has prompted some of the Republicans who previously voted against removing him to withdraw their support.

Santos declined to comment on that report.

He said he would file ethics complaints against other members of Congress and try to force an expulsion vote against Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman, who pleaded guilty in October to setting off a fire alarm before a vote.

"This is just another meaningless stunt in his long history of cons, antics, and outright fraud," Bowman said in a statement.

Santos has said he will not run for re-election next year but has remained defiant in the face of growing pressure that he step down. The drumbeat of scandal has left him isolated in Congress, where he sits on no committees and has little influence.

Without his seat, Republicans' already slim 222-213 majority would narrow further. His district, which includes parts of New York City and its Long Island suburbs, is seen as competitive.

At least 77 Republicans will have to vote for expulsion along with the chamber's 213 Democrats to meet the two-thirds majority required under the U.S. Constitution.

Santos would be only the sixth member to be expelled from the House, and the first who has not been convicted of a crime or fought for the Confederacy during the 1861-65 U.S. Civil War.

Santos' troubles began shortly after his November 2022 election, when media outlets reported that he had not actually attended New York University and worked at Goldman Sachs and Citibank, as he had claimed during the campaign.

He also falsely claimed Jewish heritage and told voters his grandparents had fled the Nazis during World War Two.

That made Santos a pariah in the House and the butt of TV comedians even before federal prosecutors charged him with an array of fraud and campaign-finance crimes.

In a 23-count indictment, they accuse him of inflating his fundraising totals in order to draw more support from the Republican party, laundering funds to pay for personal expenses, and charging donors' credits cards without permission.

Two former campaign aides have pleaded guilty to similar fraud charges.

Santos denies wrongdoing, and his trial scheduled is for Sept. 9, 2024, shortly before the November elections that will determine control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.

(Reporting by Makini Brice and Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Nick Zieminski)

By Makini Brice and Andy Sullivan