Time of triumph for GOP turns into ‘distraction’ with Santos

WASHINGTON — It should be a time of triumph for Republicans ready to take back control of the House in the new Congress next week, but their leaders are struggling with an embarrassing distraction about one of their own: What to do about George Santos? On Tuesday, Santos was asked on Fox News about the “blatant lies” and responded that he had “made a mistake.” Democrats, who will be in the minority during the upcoming session, are expected to pursue several avenues against the 34-year-old Santos, including a potential complaint with the Federal Election Commission and introducing a resolution to expel him once he’s a sitting member of Congress, according to a senior Democratic aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “He’s gonna have to answer that question: Did you perpetrate a fraud on the voters of the 3rd Congressional District of New York?” Questions were first raised about Santos earlier this month when The New York Times published an investigation into his resume and found a number of major discrepancies. The district attorney in Nassau County, New York, announced on Wednesday an investigation into the fabrications Santos made while campaigning to represent the state’s 3rd district, which includes some Long Island suburbs and a small part of the New York City borough of Queens. “If a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it.” And on Thursday, the Queens County district attorney’s office said it was looking into whether any laws were broken by Santos.