George Santos promised reporters a surprise on Tuesday. coffee and donuts It was disappointing that journalists were stuck in his office. But Santos seems to have had another surprise.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Santos’ political campaigns turned in a flurry of amended campaign finance reports, and among other things, the $500,000 loan he gave to the campaign was, in fact, his personal account. I told the FBI that it did not come from public funds. previously claimed.
But while the newly amended filings did tell us where the funds were, No Where did it come from, it also raised a new question—where did it come from? Did it where does the money come from?
Both old and new campaign filings claim the loans came from “candidates,” but the campaign’s Latest amended application I checked the box for “Candidate’s Personal Funds”.Above Newly revised filing That box is not checked today.
another fix filing On Tuesday, he clarified that the $125,000 “loan from the candidate” in late October also did not come from his “personal funds,” but similar to the $500,000 question, where did the money come from? There was no mention of when the loan would come, or what entity backed the money, if any.
The real reason McCarthy put Santos on the scientific committee
new york times report Earlier this month, Operation Santos solicited large amounts of political donations through an entity that was never registered with the Federal Election Commission. am. previously reported Connected with Santos.
by TimesIn late October, a donor cut a $25,000 donation check to RedStone Strategies, days before Santos loaned $125,000 to the campaign.
“In the weeks leading up to the campaign, the solicitor approached donors who had already contributed the maximum amount allowed to Santos’ campaign from Mr. According to a person familiar with the arrangement, who requested anonymity, RedStone said: Times report.
Campaign finance expert Brendan Fisher, deputy executive director of government watchdog Documented, first questioned the source of Santos’ $705,000 in “self-funded” campaign funds. Daily Beast Report last month.
George Santos’ massive campaign loan may not be legal
Santos previously admitted to using cash from his company, The Deboulder Organization LLC, to raise campaign funds, which legal experts say led to an illegal $705,000 corporate donation. There is a possibility. Santos confirmed to The Daily Beast last month that he specifically withdrew money from his company to underwrite his campaign because he is the company’s sole owner. (However, LLCs are not “sole proprietors” and their accounts are different from Santos personal accounts.)
Santos made the same claim in a WABC radio interview, stating that the loan was “money paid for himself through the Devolder Organization.” (Santos’ latest financial disclosures show his $750,000 salary from the Devolder Organization and a dividend worth $1 million to his $5 million.)
Today, Fischer said the attempted correction was “not half scale, not even quarter scale.”
“I have no idea what they think they’re doing,” Fisher told The Daily Beast after reviewing the filing. , but still reports that $500,000 came from Santos himself. If the “loan from candidate” did not actually come from the candidate, Santos would be blank and would have to disclose where the money actually came from. can’t solve the problem. ”
See The Daily Beast for more information.
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