Santos just made up his personal "donations" to his campaign, to get RNCC funding [View all]

[muriel_volestrangler]

According to his campaign’s filings with the Federal Election Commission, Santos helped power his House bid with personal loans of more than $500,000. Santos’ financial disclosures suggested the sum came as he enjoyed a massive surge in income with a seven-figure salary and more than one million in the bank. It was never quite clear how Santos went from making $55,000 to having a vast personal fortune in the span of a matter of months.
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The criminal information filed by prosecutors on Thursday accused Marks of working with Santos on a “scheme” to qualify for “financial and logistical support” from a program run by an unnamed party committee by inflating the amount of money his campaign had taken in. The court filing alleged that Santos’ supposed loans were crucial to furthering the plan. And not only did he not make a $500,000 loan which he claimed to, but he “did not have the funds necessary to make such loans at the time,” the filing said.

Prosecutors did not identify the “National Party Committee” that ran the program, which Santos ultimately qualified for. However, details appear to point to the National Republican Congressional Committee, which leads efforts to elect GOP House candidates. The NRCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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So, at a March 21 “Path to Victory” meeting with committee employees, Santos allegedly told staffers that he had made the $500,000 loan to himself.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/weve-finally-solved-the-mystery-of-george-santos-mysterious-fortune

Good lord, that’s comedy gold! The only reason the possibility that Santos was lying about the money never occurred to me was that I assumed campaign contribution deposits would be verified by…someone. Apparently the whole thing is as regulated as a fictional Nigerian prince’s email fundraising campaign.

Anyhoo, the kicker is that even though they now know Santos blatantly ripped them off, House Repubs almost certainly won’t expel him. They can’t even govern with the narrow majority they have.

https://balloon-juice.com/2023/10/06/scammers-slingers-open-thread/