Posted on by Randy Slovacek

More Investigations Requested In George Santos Campaign Discrepancies

More bad news for out Rep. George Santos (R-NY) as two House colleagues have filed an ethics complaint to the House Ethics Committee and a nonpartisan watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.
Rep. George Santos (R-NY)

More bad news for out Rep. George Santos (R-NY) as two House colleagues have filed an official complaint to the House Ethics Committee and a nonpartisan watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.

The House ethics complaint was filed by Democratic colleagues in the New York congressional delegation, Reps. Ritchie Torres and Daniel Goldman.

From the Washington Post:

In a letter to the House Ethics Committee on Tuesday, Torres and Goldman detail discrepancies in Santos’s biography — saying he misled voters about “his ethnicity, his religion, his education, and his employment and professional history, among other things” — and in his financial disclosure forms.

“Given the revelations about his biography, as well as the public information pertaining to his financial disclosures, Mr. Santos has failed to uphold the integrity expected of members of the House of Representatives,” Torres and Goldman wrote. “We therefore respectfully request you investigate this matter to determine the extent of these violations and take appropriate action as soon as possible.”

And this from Politico regarding a complaint filed by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center:

Specifically, the group raised questions about the source of Santos’ campaign funding. The New York Republican disclosed $705,000 in loans to his own campaign, but his own personal finance disclosures to the House only reported $55,000 in income in 2020, with hard-to-verify additional income from his consulting company the year after.

Also of concern was the campaign’s reported spending, including 37 disbursements for exactly $199.99, one cent below the FEC’s threshold for disclosure of receipts or invoices. The Campaign Legal Center noted that it would be “virtually impossible” to make an expenditure of such a specific amount.

For example, a midweek stay at the W Hotel South Beach in Miami, Florida, would be more than $700 a night, but the Santos campaign reported an expenditure of $199.99 for a stay at the same hotel in October 2021. The Santos campaign also reported spending $199.99 on a CLEAR subscription, but the CLC noted the standard CLEAR subscription cost $189.

And there’s more. Read the full report at Politico.

Plus, there are new reports that an aide for Santos impersonated Kevin McCarthy’s Chief of Staff to solicit money from GOP donors during the recent campaign cycle.