Former Rep. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., told Newsmax on Thursday that Rep.-elect George Santos, R-N.Y., should step down after admitting he lied about his work and educational background, among other things, in his successful campaign for New York's 3rd Congressional District seat.
"I think it's probably best for him to step aside," Santorum told "The Record with Greta Van Susteren," with guest host Bianca de la Garza. "He was elected clearly under false pretenses, and the governor [of New York] can then call a special election."
Santorum, a senior adviser to the Convention of States Project and a Newsmax contributor, said he expects Santos to be sworn in Tuesday but will be subject to an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
Santos already is facing a Nassau County investigation into his admitted lies and a federal investigation into his financial dealings. On Thursday, the Queens District Attorney's office said it is reviewing whether any crimes were committed, WABC-TV reported. New York's 3rd Congressional District encompasses northeastern Queens and parts of Nassau County.
"There are all sorts of investigations to get to the bottom of actually what happened, and there's going to be a decision either by a prosecutor or a decision by his colleagues to prosecute him or remove him from office," Santorum said.
It is no secret politicians have embellished their records to get elected, but Santorum said the federal investigation into Santos' financial dealings is more serious.
"Where did this money that he's putting into this race come from?" Santorum said. "I mean, there's all sorts of questions about him because when you have someone who has a fairly substantial record now of not telling the truth, it's hard to know when he is responding to these other allegations, whether he's telling the truth about that, too.
"He just seems like someone who is not particularly reputable. I think his colleagues, once he gets there, once they take a look at it, I think there's going to be a lot of pressure on him to step down."
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