FEC Says Filing Confusion Could Lead To Charges

Topline

The Federal Election Commission asked the campaign for Rep. George Santos (R-NY) Thursday to clarify who its treasurer is—warning of possible criminal charges—after listing someone in the position who soon denied it, the latest in a growing list of dubious claims and lies dogging the new Congress member.

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) leaves the U.S. Capitol on January 12 in Washington, DC.

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Key Facts

Santos came under fire this week after his campaign submitted paperwork to the FEC on Wednesday replacing his previous campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, with Thomas Datwyler, who said after the filing became public that he turned down Santos’ job offer and wasn’t actually his treasurer.

The FEC sent a letter to Devolder-Santos for Congress, the lawmaker’s campaign committee, asking it to clarify the switch, noting it had come to the agency’s attention that he “may have failed to include the true, correct, or complete treasurer information” in his filing.

The agency noted that “knowingly and willfully making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation” to a federal agency would run afoul of federal law.

The FEC “may report apparent violations to the appropriate law enforcement authorities,” the letter states, citing a federal statute against making false statements that’s punishable by up to five years in prison.

Datwyler, through his lawyer, told the FEC on Friday 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,” the Daily Beast reports.

Santos’ attorney Joseph Murray has not yet responded to a request for comment.

What To Watch For

The letter gives the Santos campaign 35 days to file a response confirming that the campaign’s filing on the treasurer is correct. If he doesn’t verify the filing, the FEC will remove it from its campaign database and instead categorize it as “unverified,” the letter notes. The agency could at that point then possibly take further action if it’s suspected to be a false filing.

Crucial Quote

“On Monday, we informed the Santos campaign that Mr. Datwyler would not be taking over as treasurer,” Datwyler’s lawyer Derek Ross said in a statement after Datwyler was listed as Santos’ treasurer. “There appears to be some disconnect between that conversation and this filing.”

Key Background

Santos has drawn widespread scrutiny since it was first revealed in mid-December that the incoming congressman appeared to have lied about major parts of his background like his educational and work history. That has since led to even more falsehoods about his history coming to light, from claiming his mother died in the September 11 attacks to telling roommates he was a model set to appear in Vogue. The lies have drawn attention to Santos’ alleged campaign finance issues, as he’s been accused of potentially illegally funneling money into his campaign and using campaign funds on personal expenses. Those suspicions were renewed this week when Santos filed updated paperwork that no longer claims more than $600,000 in loans the lawmaker made to his campaign were from his personal funds, as he had previously claimed. It’s still unclear where that money came from and whether it was contributed legally. The FEC’s letter Thursday marked at least the second time it has written to the Santos campaign asking for clarification about its filings, after CNN reports it sent a letter earlier in January asking about missing information on filings and donations that appear to exceed the federal contribution limit. Santos has broadly denied any wrongdoing involving the campaign finance allegations against him.

Tangent

Santos is also facing multiple investigations from federal, state and local authorities, as well as prosecutors in Brazil who reopened a fraud case against him. House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that the allegations against Santos had been referred to the House Ethics Committee, and he was waiting on their findings to see if it was worth trying to oust Santos from Congress. “If for some way when we go through Ethics [we find] that he has broken the law, then we will remove him, but it’s not my role,” McCarthy said, saying he believes “a person’s innocent until proven guilty.”