Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.) and other New York Republicans in the U.S. House on Tuesday introduced the “No Fortune for Fraud” Act, a bill that would place limits on the profitability of violating certain federal laws relating to campaign finance.
D'Esposito announced the legislation in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington, joined by Reps. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) and Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.). The bill would make it illegal for people who violated federal campaign finance and ethics laws from profiting through TV appearances, specials, memoirs, or public speeches.
“My legislation would ensure that members of Congress who have been indicted for or convicted of certain crimes, such as those related to fraud and campaign finance violations, are not able to make profit off of their story,” D'Esposito said.
In a statement emailed to The Epoch Times, D'Esposito further explained the bill.
“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,” he 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.”
Specifically, the bill would prevent those indicted for certain crimes—particularly violators of the Federal Election Act of 1971—from being able to make money from their story.
That bill carried on work that Congress had begun earlier to increase the ethical requirements of presidential campaigns. The bill’s main effect was the imposition of more stringent financial disclosure requirements for federal candidates, political parties, and political action committees.
The issue of campaign finance has long been a controversial one.
‘Using His Infamy to Enrich Himself’
D'Esposito and his colleagues tied the case to embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), the junior House Republican under fire for a series of lies about his background and qualifications that Santos made on the campaign trail.Critics accused Santos of “trying to use his infamy to enrich himself.”
For instance, Santos knowingly misrepresented his education, his past work experience, and falsified stories that he claimed to have happened to him—oftentimes stories making the junior New York Republican appear courageous, admirable, or prestigious. Some of Santos’ false claims include the claim that his family had escaped the Holocaust and that his mother was in the south tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
On Monday, the House Ethics Committee announced it would open an investigation into Santos’ activities to see if he broke any laws. The investigation has the approval of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
New York Republicans have been especially critical of the junior congressman. D'Esposito’s bill continues this trend.
“Should fraudsters, like George Santos, be indicted or convicted of crimes listed in my legislation—our legislation—they won’t be able to make money from a book deal, ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ or the next Netflix special,” D'Esposito said.
LaLota was even harsher in his assessment of Santos, saying “George Santos is a scam artist, and New York Republicans are here to stop him.”
“[George Santos] lied about just about everything,” LaLota added. “Don’t dismiss his lies as not well thought-out: Santos lied to party leaders, to donors, as all part of a financial scam to enrich himself and the persona that he thought would get him more campaign contributions and live a lifestyle that he otherwise couldn’t live.”
LaLota continued, saying that any other person would have been embarrassed about those lies.
“They would have shown remorse; they would have hid in shame,” LaLota said.
“Not George Santos. He tweeted more, he went on national TV, [and] positioned himself in a center aisle seat during the State of the Union. Why? Because George Santos is dead broke and he’s trying to use his new infamy to enrich himself.”
The bill, the sponsors said, would prevent Santos from further taking advantage of his notoriety for personal gain.
Williams struck the same tone.
“I know what integrity is and George Santos doesn’t have any,” Williams said.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), another freshman lawmaker from New York who won a surprising victory over a Democrat campaign chief in November, also expressed disdain for Santos and support for D'Esposito’s bill.
“No one should be permitted to profiteer off of their own lies, especially not an elected representative,“ Lawler said. ”I am proud to be a lead co-sponsor of the ‘No Fortune for Fraud Act’ and the ‘No Fame for Fraud Resolution,’ which will make it illegal for anyone convicted of financial or campaign finance fraud to receive compensation for sharing their tales of deception, whether in written or spoken word.”
What’s Next
Ultimately, consideration of the bill in the House will be up to McCarthy, who as speaker has nearly unilateral power over what comes to the House floor for a vote.During their press conference, the trio of Republicans suggested that they were so far satisfied with how McCarthy is handling the situation.
If it passes the House, the bill will need to also win the approval of the U.S. Senate, where at least 60 senators would need to give it their support.
After this, it would be up to President Joe Biden to decide whether to sign the bill into law.
Because a wide cross section of Republicans and Democrats have been critical of Santos, D'Esposito’s bill is not necessarily doomed to being dead on arrival in the Senate and White House. Still, it remains to be seen whether congressional leaders will advance the bill and if it could win the necessary support.
In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Santos’ office suggested that the legislative push indicated the wrong priorities.
“It is unfortunate that after two years of abysmal policies put forth by House Democrats and the Biden administration that there is a legislative focus on a specific member of Congress,” Santos said. “As a legislative body, our top priorities should be tackling high inflation as well as reducing high levels of crime.”
