[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 181 (Thursday, November 2, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1044]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 1, 2023

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I will vote against this expulsion 
Resolution as a matter of House precedent and Constitutional due 
process. To be clear, I find Representative George Santos' behavior to 
be disgraceful, and the fact-patterns in the federal indictment against 
him are serious and worthy of him resigning his seat. Yet, to date, 
Rep. Santos has not been criminally convicted of the offenses cited in 
the Resolution. The modern House has voted to expel two Members only 
when they were convicted of a felony in a court of law. At this moment, 
the status of the case does not support expulsion under House precedent 
or due process.
  Additionally, I served as Chair of the House Committee on Standards 
of Official Conduct (now named the House Ethics Committee) from 2009 to 
2011, and I respect the internal House process. This process has the 
authority to recommend expulsion of a Member after an appropriate 
bipartisan investigation. Rep. Santos has not yet been found guilty of 
offenses in the ethics probe. The Ethics Committee has stated it will 
release its investigatory conclusions and recommendations in two weeks.
  Once either the court or official committee processes conclude, I am 
prepared, based on known facts, to vote to expel the Congressman.

                          ____________________