Jimmy Kimmel roasts George Santos ahead of expulsion vote: ‘Have a good time in jail’

George Santos faces vote to expel him from the House on Friday

Martha McHardy
Friday 01 December 2023 13:32 GMT
Comments
George Santos holds presser on looming expulsion vote: 'This is bullying'

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has trolled George Santos ahead of a vote to expel the lawmaker from the House.

An expulsion vote is expected on Friday morning, coming after the release of a scathing House Ethics Committee report which outlined “substantial evidence” that Mr Santos had violated federal law.

In the report, Mr Santos was accused of lying about loaning personal money to his 2022 congressional campaign, then “paying himself back” for the fake loans using campaign funds.

He also used donor money to splash out on personal indulgences such as Botox, Hermes merchandise, vacations to the Hamptons and Las Vegas, and on OnlyFans, the committee found.

The congressman, who was indicted on 23 federal charges in October, claimed the report is a “dirty biased act and one that tramples all over my rights”.

Yet, in recent days, he appears to have accepted his fate – saying on Thursday that he is “at peace” with the likelihood that he will be expelled from the House.

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel trolled George Santos
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel trolled George Santos (ABC)

During his show on Thursday night, Mr Kimmel took aim at Mr Santos, expressing his disbelief at how long it has taken the House to expel him.

“This is like if a mental patient escaped the hospital and wandered into an air traffic control tower and then a year later he was still up there landing planes,” he joked.

Despite the uncertainty, Mr Kimmel noted that Mr Santos is making the most of his remaining time in the spotlight, holding a fiery press conference in front of the Capitol on Thursday in which he criticised Congress colleagues for “wasting the American people’s time”.

Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free
Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free
George Santos held a fiery press conference in front of the Capitol on Thursday
George Santos held a fiery press conference in front of the Capitol on Thursday (AP)

Mr Kimmel then showed a skit where an actor pretending to be a reporter attended the congressman’s press conference, posing a question to Mr Santos about whether anything could come between him and his Calvins.

Mr Santos, in clips spliced from his press conference into the skit, replies by mentioning the old age of his Calvins – leading Mr Kimmel’s “journalist” to respond “have a good time in jail”.

Mr Santos was first arrested on 13 federal charges in May, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements to the House of Representatives.

A superseding indictment was later handed down in October, increasing the federal charges against him to 23.

If convicted, he could face a lengthy prison term.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in