Troy Nehls: “We are in unchartered waters. The swamp water is very murky and it is deep, and you try to navigate those treacherous…”

“We are in unchartered waters. The swamp water is very murky and it is deep, and you try to navigate those treacherous waters. Every once in a while you try to find that safe lily pad to land on, but for George Santos there doesn't appear to be a safe lily pad. The United States' House of Representatives is attempting to expel a Member of Congress who has not been convicted of a crime. In the history of our country, Mr. Speaker, only five Members have been expelled from Congress. In 1861, John Clark, John Reid, and Henry Burnett were expelled on the grounds of treason for supporting the Confederate rebellion. In 1980, Michael Myers was convicted of bribery involving an FBI sting that led to the convictions of seven Members of Congress. Six Members resigned, and Myers was expelled on a vote of 376-30. Then in 2002, James Traficant was convicted on 10 counts, including bribery, conspiracy to defraud the United States, corruption, and obstruction of justice. All five of these men had one thing in common: They were all convicted under Federal law and then rightfully expelled from Congress. Kicking out Mr. Santos is setting a very dangerous precedent. Never before has Congress expelled a Member based on indictments. Indictments require nothing more than probable cause. An indictment is not a conviction. Then why today would we remove a Member from this House based on an indictment? It has never been done before. It shouldn't happen today.…”