The federal charges filed against Rep. George Santos this week alleging that he scammed campaign donors are renewing questions and conversations about whether the freshman Republican can continue to serve in Congress and fundraise for his re-election.
Santos, who represents a sliver of eastern Queens and portions of Long Island, faces a 13-count indictment for defrauding donors, the federal government and misusing money raised to support his campaign for personal expenses.
But the embattled lawmaker, who lied and embellished his resume and background, is unlikely to get the boot from his colleagues in Congress, especially as they hold a slim five-seat majority.
Campaign experts say there is a twist in the Santos case beyond the misuse of campaign funds. Santos is accused of setting up an entity that was billed as supporting his election, but instead the entity funneled money elsewhere — a sign that prosecutors may be taking a more aggressive approach toward scams against campaign donors.
“There’s been plenty of instances where an elected official has misused lawfully raised money. If you raise it and decide to take a shopping spree of Bergdorf’s, that’s illegal,” said Daniel Weiner, former senior counsel at the Federal Election Commission and now a director of the elections and government program at The Brennan Center for Justice.
In this case, Santos stands accused of defrauding donors on the false pretense that their money was going to fund his election activities, like television ads, when instead it was going to his personal accounts that prosecutors say he used for cash withdrawals, luxury clothes, and making credit card and car payments.
“A sitting congressman is accused of basically running a criminal enterprise, a fraudulent scheme where it’s not just that he misused money, but he raised it under false pretenses,” said Weiner. “I’m not aware of any other sitting federal office holder who has been indicted for that sort of offense.”
That type…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply