LI Congressmen Introduce Laws Banning House Members from Profiting Off Lies
Congressmen Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) and Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday that would prohibit members of Congress who violate federal election laws from profiting off those actions, taking aim at Rep. George Santos (R-Nassau/Queens).
The two freshmen Long Island Congressmen are co-sponsoring the proposed legislation package, called the No Fame for Fraud Resolution and the No Fortune for Fraud Act, along with four other freshmen New York State Congressmembers.
“I am committed to advancing good, accountable government here in our nation’s capital, and that includes preventing elected officials who broke the public’s trust from profiting from their misdeeds,” D’Esposito said. “Con artists, liars, and fabulists who lied their way into Congress should not be able to monetize their lies, and this legislative package would ensure they are unable to do so. I spent the greater part of my career keeping criminals off the streets of New York, and now I want to keep fraudsters out of the halls of Congress.”
D’Esposito and LaLota have both called upon fraudster and fellow freshman Congressman Santos to resign. This new measure appears to be another step toward penalizing Santos for his deception.
The proposed law states that if a current or former Congressmember is convicted or indicted for violations of the Federal Election Act of 1971, or any other offenses that would cause them to lose their federal pension, they would also be barred from “financially profiting off of their story” through “biographies, media appearances, or other creative works.”
“No member of any political party should be able to profit off their crimes, lies, indictments, or fraud. Liars and cheats should not reap any reward from their deception,” LaLota said. “I ran on restoring transparency and accountability to our government because I believe that our constituents should be able to trust their representatives and know that we are fighting for them every day. Helping make our country a better, safer, and more prosperous place, not trying to land a deal with Netflix.”
In an email to the Press, a representative for Santos released the following statement regarding the proposed law:
“It is unfortunate that after two years of abysmal policies that been put forth by House Democrats and the Biden Administration that there is a legislative focus on a specific Member of Congress,” the statement says. “As a legislative body, our top priorities should be tackling high inflation as well as reducing high levels of crime.”
Santos is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, and watchdog organizations and elected officials have called on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate his finances. Santos is also facing reviews by New York State and Nassau County investigators.
