Yesterday, several reports emerged that George Santos plans to plead guilty in his federal corruption trial. According to a report in Reuters, Santos intends to plead guilty to multiple counts of corruption in federal court in Long Island today, Monday, August 19th. Santos’s time in Congress did not last long; he took office in January last year and was expelled in December. According to a report on a local New York City website called AMNY.com, Santos’s trial on corruption, money laundering, and theft of public funds was supposed to start next month. If I had to hazard a guess, I think Santos’s tenure in prison will last longer than his tenure in Congress.
Tag: New York
LaPierre Found Liable in NRA Corruption Case.
On Friday, Wayne LaPierre was liable for misusing funds while he was the head of the National Rifle Association (NRA). According to a report by the New York Times, a jury found that LaPierre had used NRA funds for personal use, such as expensive vacations abroad for himself and relatives and expensive clothes for himself. According to a report by the Hill, Lapierre has to pay $4.3 million in damages to the state of New York. According to a report by NPR, The NRA’s former Chief Financial Officer, Wilson “Woody” Phillips, has to pay $2 Million in damages to the state of New York as well. This further highlights just how far the NRA has fallen, mainly as it used to be a heavyweight in Republican fundraising circles.
Santos Expelled from the House of Representatives.
On Friday, George Santos, the scandal-ridden member of the House of Representatives from New York, was finally expelled. Santos is facing numerous fraud charges that made his position untenable. According to a report in The Guardian, the vote to expel Santos was 311 for expulsion and 114 against. One hundred ten members of his party voted to remove him, which shows that he was seen as a liability within the party. According to a report in Reuters, he is only the sixth member of the House of Representatives expelled from the House in history. Despite all of the outcry over Santos, he still has some supporters. One in particular left a flower bouquet outside his recently vacated office.
Eric Adams and Turkish Money in New York Politics.
Last week, Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, got himself embroiled in a fundraising scandal. According to an article in Reuters, Adams’s chief campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, had her home searched by FBI agents on November 2nd due to Adams’ possible involvement in a scheme to funnel foreign money from a Turkish donor to his mayoral campaign. On top of that, according to a report in the New York Times, Adams allegedly pressured the New York Fire Department (NYFD) to sign off on the Turkish government’s new consular building despite safety concerns. A follow-up article in the Times stated that Adams had cultivated close ties to the Turkish business community in New York. Many people this time of year are looking forward to turkey and all of the fixings; however, for Adams, the fixings surrounding Turkey could be bribery and corruption, not stuffing and mashed potatoes.
Trump Fraud Trial Update.
A few days ago, Donald Trump testified in his fraud trial in New York City. By all accounts, Trump made a spectacle of the proceedings and lashed out at everyone from the judge to the New York State Attorney General Letitia James. According to a report in the Washington Post, Trump, instead of mounting any credible defense, used the proceeding to try and score political points to bolster his election credentials. The Post article states that Trump may be using this trial as a dry run for his conduct in his upcoming criminal trials. The trial continues.
Crispin Corruption Report 