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George Santos, the histrionic New York congressman, is under investigation once again. This time it doesn’t matter whether he is a drag queen or not, as the courts, not journalists, are leading this investigation.
According to a new indictment filed Tuesday, the congressman stole the identities of his campaign donors, using their credit cards to send tens of thousands of dollars to his war chest. The twenty-three-count indictment comes after one filed in May charging Santos with various offenses, including lying to Congress about his wealth and embezzling money from his campaign.
The new indictment claims the congressman charged over $44,000 to his campaign without the authorization of donors. In one particular case, Santos is said to have charged $12,000 to a contributor, transferring most of the money to his personal account.
Additionally, the congressman stands accused of falsely reporting to the Federal Elections Commission. Prosecutors say that he had stated that he loaned his campaign $500,000, when in reality he gave nothing to his campaign and had less than $8,000 in his personal account. This move, the indictment claims, was made in an attempt to convince Republican officials about the seriousness of his candidacy.
“As alleged, Santos is charged with stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign,” US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
Following the indictment, as Santos left a two-hours-long Republican conference, when asked about the indictment, the congressman told a reporter, “I was in conference like everyone else, without my phone, so I have nothing to say.” So far, he has defended himself against what he labels a witch hunt, insisting that he will be running for re-election and ignoring calls to resign.
–Juan P. Villasmil
On our radar
IN THE DOGHOUSE Republican congresswoman Virginia Foxx sent a letter expressing workplace safety concerns to President Biden and labor secretary Julie Su following the twelve biting incidents involving the president’s dog Commander.
NO COMMENT Representative Rashida Tlaib refused to answer a series of simple questions regarding the decapitation of babies by Hamas Tuesday.
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD Governor Gavin Newsom signed the California Food Safety Act Saturday, making his state the first to ban four food additives (brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye 3).
Today in Biden family scandal
When it comes to earning the moniker of most dastardly member of the first family, various Bidens are locked in a fierce race to the bottom. This week, we have the president, who was barbecuing on the White House lawn as Hamas brutalized Israelis; his younger brother Frank, who had to confront questions about a nude selfie of his posted to a gay website, and of course his son Hunter, who had a federal gun charge dropped by US District Judge Maryellen Noreika earlier today (because it has been replaced by an unrelated three-count indictment). So much for a return to normalcy…
–Cockburn
And then there was Scalise… for now
In the latest installation of the reality TV show that is the House speaker’s race, Representative Steve Scalise clinched the votes he needs to be the presumed next speaker of the House. If only it were so easy. Helping Scalise tremendously in his current victory was his fundraising prowess and whip operation he currently has as the number two Republican. If Scalise moves up, the game of musical chairs will continue as even more vacancies crop up. But, Representative Thomas Massie is hinting that around twenty Republicans are still opposed; others tell The Spectator that number may be closer to thirty. But we’re told that nothing is set in stone just yet, even as Jim Jordan moves to help Scalise out on the floor…
–Matthew Foldi
From the site
Spencer A. Klavan: The kids are running the classroom
Charles Lipson: Biden must rethink US policy in the Middle East
