Its base is square, measuring 40 feet (12 m) on each side. The tower stands 316 feet (96 m) tall, and the climb from ground level to the belfry is 334 steps. When completed in 1859, its clock was the largest and most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock in the world. The tower was designed by Augustus Pugin in a neo-Gothic style. The official name of the tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower, but it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012, to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The former congressman's removal followed his conviction that April on 10 federal counts, including bribery, racketeering and fraud.51☃0′03″N 0☀7′28″W / 51.5007°N 0.1245°W / 51.5007 -0.1245īig Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the striking clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, although the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. Traficant, who died in 2014, was the last member of the House to face expulsion, in July 2002 by a vote of 420 to 1. (Photo By Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images) The Committee found Traficant guilty of 9 counts violating House rules and recommended expulsion from Congress.

James Traficant, D-Ohio, testifies at a hearing of the House Ethics Committee. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison at the age of 79. He was expelled in October 1980 by a vote of 376 to 30.ĭecades later, Myers pleaded guilty in June 2022 to federal election fraud charges related to schemes to fraudulently stuff ballot boxes for Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania elections from 2014 to 2018. Myers' expulsion by the House came after he was convicted of bribery in the 1970s-era Abscam sting investigation. Michael Myers, Democrat from Pennsylvania Michael Myers, speaks to reporters at the Capitol after he was expelled from Congress by fellow House members for taking a bribe in the FBI ABSCAM case. There was no recorded vote, according to the House's Office of the Historic.īurnett was a colonel in the Kentucky Infantry in the Confederate army. Like the two others before him, Burnett was expelled for disloyalty to the Union in a vote that took place in December 1861.

He served in the Confederate army during the Civil War as a volunteer aide to Confederate Gen. Red was removed for disloyalty to the Union in a December 1861 vote, though it was not recorded. He served as a brigadier general of Missouri Confederate troops. Santos is now facing nearly two dozen federal charges stemming from allegations by the Justice Department that he stole from donors, used campaign contributions for personal expenses, and fraudulently collected unemployment benefits, among other claims.Ĭlark was expelled for disloyalty to the Union in July 1861 by a vote of 94 to 45. But House members mounted their own efforts to expel the freshman congressman after he was indicted in May, attempting on two other occasions to expel Santos. Santos spent his entire first year in Congress battling calls to resign following revelations shortly after he was elected that he fabricated aspects of his background and resume. Expulsion is the harshest form of punishment House members may impose, and Santos on Friday became just the sixth member in U.S. George Santos of New York in a vote that was not supported by House GOP leaders but nonetheless won the support of over 100 Republican lawmakers who joined Democrats to attain the two-thirds majority necessary to remove him. Washington - The House voted Friday to expel embattled Republican Rep. George Santos faces third expulsion vote this week, says he will not resign 02:28

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