Mr. Santos is the sixth member of the House to be expelled in the body’s history, and the first who had not been convicted of a crime or accused of treason.
The two year term is key here. Let’s say that instead of just being a conman and liar, he was accused of being put into office by Chinese or Russian spies. Should he be allowed to spend 2 years voting on things, attending confidential meetings, serving on committees, etc. while there’s an investigation about whether or not he’s an agent of a foreign government?
If he’s found innocent of everything, all that happens is that he lost his job. He could run again, and being kicked out over lies and rumours would be a good grievance to campaign on. But, the potential damage he could do during the time it takes to investigate, try and convict him is enough to say that he should be removed now.
The two year term is key here. Let’s say that instead of just being a conman and liar, he was accused of being put into office by Chinese or Russian spies. Should he be allowed to spend 2 years voting on things, attending confidential meetings, serving on committees, etc. while there’s an investigation about whether or not he’s an agent of a foreign government?
If he’s found innocent of everything, all that happens is that he lost his job. He could run again, and being kicked out over lies and rumours would be a good grievance to campaign on. But, the potential damage he could do during the time it takes to investigate, try and convict him is enough to say that he should be removed now.