105 Republicans voted to expel Santos for things Trump has also done

In the immediate aftermath of the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote on Dec. 1 to expel Rep. George Santos (R-NY), some Republican lawmakers were patting themselves on the back for putting principles over party.

“Today I voted to expel George Santos from the House of Representatives,” Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) tweeted. “He obviously deceived his electorate to get to Congress and there’s a preponderance of evidence to say he continued to defraud the people once in office.”

But Zinke, like many of the Republicans who voted to oust Santos, is also an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, who has been accused of many of the same transgressions as Santos.

The most prominent accusation against Santos has been that he is a serial liar. Last year, the New York Times reported that Santos had fabricated large swaths of his academic and professional resume, including claims that he attended Baruch College on a volleyball scholarship and worked at the financial firm Goldman Sachs. 

Trump has told similar lies. In 1973, he falsely told the New York Times that he had graduated first in his class at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Trump is currently on trial in Manhattan on charges of fraudulently inflating the value of business assets to secure better loan and insurance rates. 

Next year, Santos will also see the inside of a New York courtroom when he confronts his own fraud charges.

Rep. Ashley Hisnson (R-IA) tweeted Santos’ “conduct is beneath public office and he is unfit to serve in Congress. We should focus on solving the challenges facing the American people & he should deal with his legal challenges as a private citizen.”

Earlier this year, Hinson dismissed the multiple indictments against Trump as “clearly politicized” and posed for photos with the former president when he made a campaign stop in Iowa.

Both Trump and Santos have falsified stories about the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City. On multiple occasions, Santos claimed his mother was working in the World Trade Center and narrowly escaped the collapsing buildings. She was actually in Brazil. In 2015, Trump said he personally witnessed people jumping from the burning towers despite having been miles away from the site of the attacks. He also said he saw thousands of Arab Americans celebrating the attacks. This claim has been thoroughly debunked.

In a statement, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) said, “While George Santos is a fellow Republican, and the Republican majority will now be less, I don’t believe that even a slim majority should excuse such gross unethical conduct.” 

Aderholt has endorsed Trump’s 2024 campaign.

Arguably the most egregious allegation against Santos is that he defrauded a homeless veteran. Rich Osthoff, a U.S. Navy veteran, told CNN that in 2016, when he was unable to care for his cancer-stricken pitbull, he was connected with Santos, who had supposedly done charity work for animals. Santos set up a GoFundMe page for the ailing dog that raised $3,000. Asthoff said he never received the money and Santos absconded with the funds.

Trump has been implicated in a similar con.

In 2016, Trump’s presidential campaign coordinated with the Trump Foundation to hold a fundraiser for ​​veterans. Trump said donations would be disbursed to various charities. In 2019, a New York state judge ruled that the Trump Foundation kept and misused the proceeds that were raised. Some of that money was spent on campaign expenses. The case was settled in 2019. 

Trump and Santos have also both been charged in New York state with campaign finance violations.

On Dec. 2, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) told “Fox & Friends Weekend”: “Our ethics commission unanimously had findings that found that George Santos had stolen money from his constituents and donors. For me that’s a cardinal sin and he should be ousted.”

Gimenez has endorsed Trump and joined him on the campaign trail.

Santos is now charging $200 to record personalized videos for customers on the Cameo platform as he awaits trial. Trump is the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.