It feels like we’ve been saying this from the moment that George Santos’ name popped up in the headlines after winning a seat in Congress, but it definitely seems like the wheels of justice are closing in on the notorious liar. We already knew that the Federal Election Commission was investigating his campaign finance records for potential improprieties, to put it mildly. But yesterday, the Department of Justice stepped in and asked the FEC to hold off on its investigation. They also asked for any of Santos’ campaign finance records to be turned over to them. This is a significant development because it signals a potential shift from allegations of breaking FEC rules to actual violations of the law. (Yahoo News)
The Department of Justice has told the Federal Election Commission to hold off on any enforcement action against Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) in the DOJ’s clearest signal yet that it’s conducting its own criminal investigation into Santos’ campaign finances, The Washington Post reported Friday.
The Justice Department also asked the FEC to provide any relevant documents for an investigation, sources told the Post.
Santos has issued a plethora of lies about his heritage, family, education and work experience. He has ignored calls for his resignation and has claimed he merely “embellished” his résumé.
The development that finally spurred the Justice Department to get involved was probably the fact that Santos’ campaign amended his campaign finance filings earlier this week. The major sticking point in those filings are the two supposedly “personal loans” he gave to his campaign, one for $80,000 and the other for $500,000.
There is a box to be checked on the FEC forms if the money was a “personal loan.” Santos’ forms are now inconsistent, with some forms having the box checked and others where it is left blank. This will need to be cleared up. If that was his own money, he needs to be able to show where he got it. If it came from someone else, the FEC will have to be able to identify the source.
For the record, Santos is insisting that he didn’t amend the forms himself. He claims that he “hired a fiduciary” to take care of them. If that’s the case, he probably didn’t hire a very good one. But with the Justice Department now being involved, it sounds like there may have been one or more violations of the law taking place.
A conviction of any kind resulting from this investigation would be sufficient to have the House remove him from office, triggering a special election in his home district. That would no doubt be a relief for Kevin McCarthy and the new House GOP majority. Santos became an albatross around their necks as soon as he showed up, and Democrats and their legacy media stenographers have been enjoying a field day, pointing to Santos as a symbol of Republican corruption and dishonesty. How Santos has continued to ignore the calls for his voluntary resignation remains a mystery, but the man apparently has no sense of shame.
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