Dem
51
GOP
49
If you like your schadenfreude buffet-style, then Tuesday was a very good day for you, assuming you're not a Trumpy Republican. First, Donald Trump was found to be a sexual predator, a label that will stick with him for the rest of his days. And if that were not enough, Rep. "George Santos" (R-NY) has been indicted in federal court.
The indictment is sealed, and so nobody knows exactly what Santos is charged with. Well, nobody who is talking, at least. Here are a few of our best guesses:
If readers have guesses as to what crime(s) it might be, send 'em in and we will run some guesses tomorrow. And while we are at it, there are 605 days left in the term that Santos has been elected to. How many of those 605 do you think he'll actually serve? Cast your vote here, and we'll include the results in any Santos-related item we run tomorrow.
On that point, Santos appears to be shameless enough that he won't resign voluntarily under any circumstances. However, once there is an indictment, then we enter into a situation where there's precedent for booting someone out of the House. And if there's a conviction, then expulsion is all-but-guaranteed. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) says he will take a wait-and-see approach, and he's waiting to see exactly what the charges are. McCarthy, of course, is pretty shameless as well, and he certainly doesn't want his already-slim margin of error to become even slimmer. However, it's quite clear that the other New York Republican members of the House think Santos is a giant millstone around their necks. So, the Speaker could well decide it's in his best interests to jettison Santos.
The Representative has already returned to New York, and is expected to surrender sometime today. That means a court appearance is imminent, which in turn means we should soon learn what the charges against him are. By the end of the week, we might actually know if there was a second shooter on the grassy knoll. (Z)