George Santos’ expulsion from the House of Representatives Friday was evidence that the New York Republican was “too obvious” in his lies and long list of alleged crimes, Fox News host Jesse Watters said.
On The Five, Watters lamented the House’s bipartisan vote to kick out Santos, who faces 23 criminal counts including aggravated identity theft and wire and credit card fraud, and who declined to run for re-election after a House ethics report earlier this month concluded that he “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”
“I’m not for expulsion,” Watters said, suggesting later that it would be better for voters in Santos’ Long Island district to decide whether he has earned another term.
“But this guy’s a liar and a fraud and a thief. The only difference is [that] he was too obvious about it,” Watters claimed.
Santos, for instance, is accused in the ethics report of spending $1,500 in campaign funds for Botox, $2,200 for a trip to Atlantic City, and more than $3,300 for an Airbnb rental. He also allegedly used campaign money in high-end stores like Hermes, as well as for access to adult content platform OnlyFans.
“You’ve got to be sleazy, but classy,” Watters advised, prompting a co-host to react in surprise: “Oh my God.”
“You can’t steal. You have to insider trade, okay? It’s embezzlement, but why not just take kickbacks like Bernie Sanders’ wife,” Watters continued, stating a blatantly unsupported claim as fact.
“You’re going to lie on your resume?” Watters went on, referring to Santos’ false accounts of his work experience, education and ethnicity. “Okay. Or you can identify as an American Indian.”
Earlier in the segment, Jeanine Pirro wondered why no one is pushing to expel Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for claiming to be Native American—something which she apologized for in 2019.
Watters then made an apparent jab at Hunter Biden, the subject of House Republicans’ thus far unsubstantiated allegations of “shady business practices.”
“If you want to really money launder, you’ve got to take $40 million from the Chinese through 17 companies. That’s how you do it!,” he exclaimed. “And remember when the mafia would get big heists? Gotta lay low. Don’t go buying furs! That’s like the number one rule.”
Rather than buy anything from Hermes, Watters suggested, it would have been wise for Santos to “buy something off the rack.”
