US Rep. George Santos Slams ‘Witch Hunt’ Amid Fraud Charges

Embattled Republican Rep. George Santos of New York is in big trouble after Federal authorities unsealed the charges against him during a hearing in New York. However, he remained defiant and even took a page out of former President Donald Trump's playbook and called the investigation a "witch hunt."

The controversial freshman congressman was hit with a 13-count indictment, and his charges include fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds. Santos allegedly defrauded prospective political supporters by laundering his campaign funds and using them to pay for his personal expenses.

According to Reuters, Santos is also accused of receiving unemployment benefits while he was already employed and of making false statements to the House of Representatives. He allegedly lied about his assets, income, and liabilities.

Shortly after he was held in custody, Santos stated, "I'm going to fight my battle. I'm going to deliver. I'm going to fight the witch hunt. I am going to take care of clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that."

He pleaded "Not Guilty" to all 13 federal charges against him.

Republicans Slowly Abandoning George Santos

Since news of the charges against Santos broke, the calls for the Latino congressman who claimed he was Jewish to resign have since grown louder. While calls from Democrats for Santos to step down have been expected, his fellow Republicans have also been abandoning him.

So far, nine House Republicans have called on George Santos to resign, six of whom are from New York state, where Santos is from. However, the no. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise stated that the Republican caucus would be withholding its judgment on Santos for now.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told CNN host Manu Raju that he will not support his fellow Republican's reelection bid.

"Santos has a lot going on. I think he has other things to focus on in his life other than running for reelection," he added.

As for whether he would join the calls and ask his colleague to resign, the house speaker stated that he would do so if the House Ethics Committee found that he really did break the law.

George Santos Says He Will Not Resign

Despite all the calls for him to resign from both the right and the left, Santos remains defiant and said that he will not be resigning and will continue his reelection bid despite being unpopular in the district he represents.

The BBC reported that Santos spoke at a press conference after the hearing and stated that the "prosecutors received bad information." He added that he has "plenty of evidence that we will now be sharing with the government in this case."

He then directed his words to his constituents and stated that they should not look at his history of making false statements and look instead at his voting record in the House.

"I want to be judged by the work I do in the body, and I am committed to that," he stated before adding that he will not resign.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: GOP lawmakers call for Santos' resignation on Capitol Hill - CNN