George Santos Hit With FEC Ethics Complaint

Frankly, I’m surprised they waited three whole days after he was sworn in. The “they” This is the Federal Election Commission. On the first business day after Republican George Santos was sworn in as the next congressman from New York’s 3rd Congressional District, the nonprofit group Campaign Legal Center FEC received a formal complaint Ask for an investigation into Santos’ use of campaign funds, among other things. Santos was very quiet his first few days in Washington. But now, George clearly demands that he speak up. has some ‘splaining to doAs the children say, (CBS News)

George Santos, a newly sworn in Congressman, will start his first week of office facing an ethics complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

In a civil complaint filed Monday with the agency and reviewed by CBS News, the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center accused Santos, a Republican from New York, of illegally using campaign funds for personal expenses, including for an apartment rental, and for submitting false information about both the source of his campaign donations and his campaign’s expenses.

Campaign Legal Center in D.C. questioned Santos’s ability to make large-scale donations to his own campaign during the months prior to his win in a Long Island House race.

It sounds like the Campaign Legal Center didn’t have to do very much digging to generate this request. All they really needed were his campaign finance disclosure filings (which were already available online) and some videos or transcripts of many of Santos’ campaign trail speeches and interviews. It’s also worth noting that this is almost certainly not some left-wing partisan witch hunt. A former Republican Chairman of FEC founded the CLC.

The group asked the FEC to investigate the obvious questions many of you have been asking. How Santos was capable to accomplish this is at the top of the list. “loan” His own campaign was worth more than $700,000. However, his disclosure forms revealed that he was only worth $55K less than a year ago. You can’t blame him if he wins the Lotto big. But produce the ticket for us if you’re going to use the cash in a channel regulated by the FEC.

CLC suggested, without making any direct accusations, that the $705,000 he borrowed could have come from. “a corporation or foreign national.” If the source of the money is in either of these categories, then he would have broken the regulations in a significant way and could be removed by his peers.

The complaint also reveals that Santos listed numerous expenses at $199.99. That’s not illegal in and of itself, but it’s conveniently and coincidentally (I’m sureThere is only one penny less than the $200 threshold that requires receipts for expenses. One of these expenses was listed as ‘Hotel Stay,’ Last October, at the W Hotel South Beach in Miami, Florida. CLC points out, however, that the most affordable room at that hotel was more than $700 per day. Something doesn’t smell right here.

Nothing about Santos’ campaign finances adds up or matches the answers that he’s given in multiple interviews. The CLC’s senior executive summarised it well. He stated that politicians could lie about their background and resumes without violating the law. But “deceiving voters about your campaign’s funding and spending is a serious violation of federal law.” The FEC has so far not commented beyond stating that the complaint is being investigated “all FEC enforcement matters are kept confidential until they’re resolved.”

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