Rep. George Santos (R-NY) is reportedly refunding more campaign donations than he is taking in.
Santos has been accused of lying about nearly every aspect of his life and career during his 2022 campaign and now faces 23 federal charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, and theft of public funds.
Related:
Late night hosts ripped George Santos to shreds this week
Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Kimmel had a field day with the out congressman’s latest indictments and bonkers antics.
According to Politico, the embattled out Republican’s latest campaign finance report indicates that the Santos campaign refunded more than $35,000 to donors between July and September. During the same period, the campaign brought in only $1,704 in new donations.
Stay connected to your community
Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter.
The new filing also disclosed more than $120,000 in debt owed to vendors. According to Politico, that debt seems to date back to 2022 but had not been reported on previous filings. Campaign debts are supposed to be reported on filings for the quarter in which they were incurred as well as all subsequent filings.
Last week, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn issued an updated indictment with ten new criminal charges against Santos, bringing the total number of counts against him to 23. The new charges accuse him of fraudulently charging tens of thousands of dollars to donors’ credit cards, faking a $500,000 loan to his own campaign, and filing false campaign finance reports reflecting fake contributions from real people.
Last week, Santos said that he would not take a plea deal and intends to prove his innocence. But according to court documents, Santos has already engaged in plea talks with prosecutors.
The campaign’s latest filing also indicates that it spent more than $42,000 during the last quarter, including $20,000 in legal expenses. Santos, who has said repeatedly that he intends to run for reelection, is left with less than $23,000 in his campaign account.
That puts Santos at a disadvantage against both his Republican and Democratic challengers, who have all outraised him. Former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D) is running to reclaim the seat that Santos won last year after Suozzi decided to run for New York governor and lost. Politico reports that Suozzi had $58,000 left in his campaign account at the end of September. Meanwhile, Republican challenger Kellen Curry’s campaign said it raised $149,000 in the third quarter.
Following last week’s updated indictment, six House Republicans introduced a resolution to expel Santos from Congress.