The fabulist Republican congressman representing New York’s Third District isn’t the only person associated with George Santos’ campaign who allegedly lied about himself while seeking donations. A member of Santos’ political team impersonated House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s chief of staff, CNBC reports.
Rich Republican donors have responded to calls and emails from Dan Meyer, McCarthy’s chief of staff, over the past two election cycles asking for money to help Santos get elected. Or so they thought.
A wealthy financier who donated to the Santos campaign told CNBC the caller was actually Sam Miele, an employee employed by Santos to raise funds for the campaign.
It’s unclear how McCarthy will react to the new developments as he has remained silent on the matter since the revelations began rolling out several weeks ago.
Looking ahead to last week’s 15 votes to elect McCarthy as president, the Republican leader had gone to great lengths not to do anything that would cost him votes, including those of Santos.
Needing all the votes he could get, McCarthy appeared to ignore the accusations against Santos, and during the ballots Santos was seen on the floor of the House rubbing shoulders with influential far-right Republicans. like reps Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Santos voted for McCarthy.
The latest development comes as Santos has officially been the subject of a ethical complaint filed Monday by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center with the Federal Election Commission, which alleges a wide range of campaign finance violations.
The charges include concealing sources of income, lying about campaign expenses, and using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.
Santos has not yet answered questions from reporters. Instead, since arriving on Capitol Hill, Santos has continually dodged reporters, often trying to evade their questions by fleeing them through the halls of Congress.
After being revealed to have made up facts about himself, Santos admitted to lying about his heritage, work experience, education, wealth, and other basic details in his biography.
Local and federal prosecutors in New York have admitted investigations into possible crimes associated with Santos’ lies.
Similarly, officials in Brazil reopened a criminal investigation in old fraud charges involving Santos.
A month before his 20th birthday, Santos walked into a small clothing store in the Brazilian town of Niterói, outside Rio de Janeiro, and bought nearly $700 worth of merchandise using a stolen checkbook and fake name, according to court records. reviewed by The New York Times.
Santos admitted the fraud in August 2009 on a Brazilian social media site. The following year, accompanied by his mother, he told authorities that he had used checks stolen from his mother’s former boss to buy clothes.
In September 2011, a Brazilian judge approved the charges and ordered Santos to answer, which he did not, having moved to the United States in October, the Times reports.
Despite confessions Santos previously made during official proceedings in Brazil, Santos recently denied being involved in any criminal activities.
“I am not a criminal here – neither here nor in Brazil nor in any jurisdiction in the world,” he told the New York Post when asked about his lies.
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