With the increasing amount of attention the campaign of Rep. George Santos (R-NY) is now receiving, his incessant deceit and lies — ranging from his family history to volleyball exploits — have now caught the attention of the Federal Election Commission.
The bipartisan regulatory agency sent two letters to the Santos campaign questioning the validity of Santos' campaign filings.
One letter is focused on his campaign committee's treasurer and states, "It has come to the attention of the Federal Election Commission that you may have failed to include the true, correct or complete treasurer information."
Purposely submitting false information to the federal government is illegal and can trigger civil investigations, fines and, in extreme cases, criminal inquiries. Congressional campaign treasurers are legally responsible for keeping political campaign's financial books and properly reporting fundraising details to federal regulators.
The FEC gave Santos until March 2 to formally respond.
The letters arrived on the same day that the Department of Justice asked the FEC to hold off on any enforcement action against the Santos campaign, according to the Washington Post. The development is the "the clearest sign to date that federal prosecutors are examining Santos’s campaign finances," wrote reporters Issac Stanley-Becker, Jonathan O'Connell and Emma Brown.
IN OTHER NEWS: Nevada Republicans tearing themselves apart after failed MAGA candidate's vulgar speech goes viral
The man listed as the new treasurer for Santos' campaign, Thomas Datwyler, informed the FEC through his lawyer that he "is not the treasurer for this committee, did not file or authorize the filing of [the form], and did not authorize [the form] to be signed on his behalf," according to documents obtained by The Daily Beast.
With Datwyler's hand-washing of the filed paperwork, accountability is being shifted to former campaign treasurer and Long Island accountant Nancy Marks, The Daily Beast reported.
The other FEC letter questions the formation of Santos' recount committee, including the position of treasurer, and has the same response due date of March 2.
