George Santos (left), Tom Suozzi.Photo:Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
Democrat Tom Suozzi is running for the House seat he previously held, as the congressman who succeeded him — Republican Rep.George Santos— navigates federal criminal charges.
Suozzi, 61, announced Tuesday that he’s launching a campaign for the New York House seat he held from 2017 to 2023.
“Today I’m filing a committee to run for Congress in November 2024,” the former representative said in a statementposted to his X account. “The madness in Washington, D.C., and the absurdity of George Santos remaining in the United States Congress is obvious to everyone.”
Suozzi added that he will formally kick off his campaign in New York’s 3rd Congressional District — which is made up of parts of Long Island and Queens — following the local elections in November.
New York Rep. George Santos.Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images
Much of the controversy stemmed from a bombshellNew York Timesreport that raised questions about the 35-year-old Republican lawmaker’s background, such as his level of education and previous jobs as well as more personal details, like his family ties to the Holocaust.
Investigators had questions about him, too, and earlier this year, a federal grand juryvoted to indict Santoswith seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
Santospleaded not guilty to 13 criminal countsin federal court in May.
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Nancy Marks, the former campaign treasurer for Santos,pleaded guiltylast week to a fraud conspiracy charge and implicated Santos in a scheme to embellish his campaign finance reports with false donors.
Despite the ongoing investigations, the freshman lawmakerfiled paperwork for his 2024 reelectioncampaign in March to keep his District 3 seat, according to theFederal Election Commission website, and has offered no indication that he plans to step down.
source: people.com
