House Speaker Mike Johnson reluctant to expel George Santos 

WASHINGTON — Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed reluctance to expel the indicted Rep. George Santos on Thursday evening, citing the thin House Republican majority and Santos’ right to defend himself in a trial.

“We have no margin for error,” Johnson (R-La.) said of his party’s four-vote margin in a Fox News interview. He added, “George Santos is due ‘due process,’ right?”

Yet Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) remained undaunted in his attempt to force Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) out of Congress with a vote to expel him next week — despite Santos’ not guilty plea Friday to 10 new federal criminal charges filed against him on Oct. 10.

“George Santos’ ‘not guilty’ plea today doesn’t change the fact that he conned his way into Congress and spends the vast majority of his time defending himself in court instead of serving his constituents,” D’Esposito said in a statement Friday.

“The resolution I filed to expel Santos will provide Congress with the opportunity to rid the People’s House of this serial fraudster,” D'Esposito said.

Santos has admitted fabricating much of his biography and was implicated by his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks of Shirley, in her guilty plea to fraudulent activities involving donors and required federal campaign reports.

Federal prosecutors have charged Santos with 23 counts of defrauding campaign contributors, making false statements on financial disclosure and campaign finance reports, and illegally taking unemployment payments, among other offenses.

In the Fox News interview, Johnson said Republicans have just a four-seat majority in the House that may be reduced even more and could result in “the most razor-thin majority” in the history of the House.

“We have to allow due process to play itself out. That’s what our system of justice is for,” Johnson said of Santos. “He's not convicted. He's charged. And so if we're going to expel people from Congress just because they're charged with a crime, then — or accused — that's a problem.”

Santos did not respond to a request for comment. But on Wednesday, he told Newsday: “I am entitled to due process.”

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), a Hofstra Law School graduate and co-sponsor the expulsion motion, said, “Due Process is not a license to endlessly stall. Rather, it’s constitutional  guarantee that the accused receives notice and has an opportunity to be heard."

LaLota continued, “In this case, both requirements have been met, and Santos has actually admitted to enough fraud warranting his expulsion from Congress.”

With Laura Figueroa Hernandez