George Santos news – live: Treasurer jumps ship amid FEC and DOJ probes as Santos steps down from committees

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Embattled GOP congressman George Santos is facing yet another issue after his longtime treasurer jumped ship amid suspected probes by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Justice Department (DOJ) into his campaign finances.

Nancy Marks officially filed her resignation with the FEC on Tuesday from the serial liar’s campaign and four other political committees affiliated with him.

Her resignation came one week after Mr Santos’ campaign filed documents naming replacement treasurer Thomas Datwyler – only for Mr Datwyler to reveal that he had turned down the job and the congressman had listed him without his authorisation.

This prompted the FEC to issue a legal warning to Mr Santos’ campaign about “knowingly and willfully making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation to a federal government agency”.

The DOJ then signalled it had launched its own criminal probe into Mr Santos’ campaign finances, by asking the FEC to postpone any of its own enforcement while it conducts a parallel investigation.

Alongside the legal turmoil, Mr Santos stood down from his committee assignments on Tuesday – just days after they were assigned – and continues to come under scrutiny for a plethora of lies.

Key points

  • George Santos treasurer quits campaign – days after he falsely named a new one

  • George Santos stands down from House committees

  • Santos and Kevin McCarthy have mystery meeting amid scandals

  • FEC sends letter to Santos campaign requesting answers after treasurer change

  • Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace calls on George Santos to resign: ‘That guy does not cut it’

  • Santos gets into Twitter spat with Trixie Mattel of RuPaul’s Drag Race

George Santos treasurer quits campaign

09:24 , Rachel Sharp

Embattled GOP congressman George Santos is facing yet another issue after his longtime treasurer jumped ship amid suspected probes by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Justice Department (DOJ) into his campaign finances.

Nancy Marks officially filed her resignation with the FEC on Tuesday from the serial liar’s campaign and four other political committees affiliated with him.

“At the request of the FEC, I am submitting this Form 99 stating that I have resigned as treasurer for the Devolder-Santos For Congress Committee as of January 25, 2023,” she wrote.

Her resignation came one week after Mr Santos’ campaign filed documents naming replacement treasurer Thomas Datwyler – only for Mr Datwyler to reveal that he had turned down the job and the congressman had listed him without his authorisation.

This prompted the FEC to issue a legal warning to Mr Santos’ campaign about “knowingly and willfully making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation to a federal government agency”.

The DOJ then signalled it had launched its own criminal probe into Mr Santos’ campaign finances, by asking the FEC to postpone any of its own enforcement while it conducts a parallel investigation.

Alongside the legal turmoil, Mr Santos stood down from his committee assignments on Tuesday – just days after they were assigned – and continues to come under scrutiny for a plethora of lies.

Former Santos roommate claims he threatened to send her ‘back to Brazil'

07:45 , John Bowden

A former roommate of Mr Santos has claimed that he threatened to have her sent back to Brazil when she confronted him about stealing her jewellery and money.

The roommate, Adriana Parizzi, told Mother Jones that Mr Santos “made it very clear that I was in his country...and at any point, if I opened my mouth, he could send me back to Brazil”.

The 55-year-old told the outlet that she bought the tickets for the two of them to fly to New York in February 2011.

“He didn’t have any money to go back and I was the way for him to leave Brazil,” she said.

“He always convinced people that everything was a big misunderstanding,” she added.

Mr Santos has rejected the claims.

“Everybody that has ever wanted to come for me is coming for me and they are making s*** up on the way, and I look very much forward to poking holes in all these people who are making these insane accusations without any corroborating evidence—because it is false,” he told The New York Times.

FEC sends letter to Santos campaign requesting answers after treasurer change

05:45 , John Bowden

The Federal Election Commission has sent a letter to the Santos campaign asking for more information on the paperwork submitted showing a new treasurer who claims he never took the job.

The Thursday letter states that Mr Santos’s campaign “may have failed to include the true, correct, or complete treasurer information” on the documents submitted on Wednesday showing that Thomas Datwyler is its new treasurer and the custodian of records.

Five separate fundraising committees received the same letter after they also sent in documents showing Mr Datwyler as their new treasurer.

The committees and the campaign have to respond before 2 March.

The FEC letter said that if they’re found to have provided a “materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation” on the documents, they could face criminal charges.

GOP congresswoman reiterates call for Santos to resign

03:45 , John Bowden

Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina blasted embattled fellow GOP Representative George Santos of New York and said he should resign.

The South Carolina Republican spoke to The Independent in an exclusive interview.

“I mean, if you look at the allegations about his campaign finance, there are serious issues there,” she said.

Specifically, federal prosecutors are investigating irregularities regarding financial disclosures and loans, according to NBC News. “Nothing he has ever said has turned out to be true.”

“He should resign, but he won’t and if you watch the press gaggled up, chase him around Capitol Hill, he’s loving the attention,” she said. “He’s smiling and giggling and just soaking it up.”

Read more:

Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace calls on George Santos to resign

WATCH: The imposter in Congress | On The Ground

01:45 , John Bowden

George Santos made waves on the political scene of Washington D.C. by flipping New York’s 3rd congressional district seat in the November midterms, a once reliable Democratic seat. But, soon, reports emerged that many things in his résumé and the life story told to the public wasn’t all strictly true. Santos is refusing to stand aside as the controversy mounts but how long can that position hold?

The Independent’s Senior US Correspondent Richard Hall visited Long Island and Nassau county to find out the truth, trying to track down the real George Santos.

Watch here:

George Santos to step down from House committees after meeting with Kevin McCarthy

Tuesday 31 January 2023 23:45 , John Bowden

George Santos will voluntarily step down from two House committees he recently joined after meeting Tuesday morning with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The move comes after weeks of calls from Democrats for Mr McCarthy to do more to punish the freshman congressman who has now admitted to lying about much of his background and faces a federal investigation by the Justice Department.

It also comes as some critics have hit the House speaker for seeking the removal of three Democratic members of Congress from two committees over what the left decries as partisan reasons — many criticised Mr McCarthy for seeking to punish Democrats for political reasons while shielding one of his own from accountability.

George Santos to step down from House committees after meeting with Kevin McCarthy

George Santos lashes out at the media

Tuesday 31 January 2023 22:30 , John Bowden

George Santos fumed on Twitter that the media is trying to “smear” him as he hit out at what he claimed to be “fake posts” and “clown” interviews.

“From interviewing clowns, to creating fake “posts” the media continues to down spiral as their attempt to smear me fails. I am getting the job I signed up for done, while you all spiral out of control,” he tweeted late on Thursday.

He did not detail what he was referring to but his comments came as a new report from Patch accused him of making a vile joke about Hitler and killing Jews and Black people.

In a 2011 comment on Facebook, obtained by Patch, Mr Santos allegedly wrote: “hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh hiiiiiiiiiiiitlerrrrrrrrrrr (hight hitler) lolololololololololololol sombody kill her!! the jews and black mostly lolllolol!!! Dum.”

Mr Santos’ former roommate confirmed the account’s validity to the outlet and said that the congressman used to often make antisemitic comments. An attorney for Mr Santos told Patch the Facebook post is “completely false”.

The allegation comes as the congressman has previously been caught in a lie about being Jewish and his grandparents fleeing the Holocaust. He later walked back the claims saying he was “Jew-ish”.

Keep up with George Santos’s growing list of lies

Tuesday 31 January 2023 21:45 , John Bowden

It can be difficult keeping up with the list of fictions that George Santos has been accused of telling, admitted telling, or merely been caught spinning red-handed following a contradictory statement.

But, do not fret: The Independent is here, and we’re keeping track of the whole list of lies even as it continues to grow — both in number and in the sheer scale of the humiliation that it presents for not just Mr Santos, who remains adamant that he will serve two years in office as representative for New York’s third district, but for the Republican House caucus as a whole.

Every lie George Santos has been accused of making

Why George Santos could still end up being ousted from Congress after resigning from his committees

Tuesday 31 January 2023 19:59 , John Bowden

George Santos on Tuesday announced that he would voluntarily step down from two House committees in order to “avoid drama” as he remains engulfed in a scandal resulting from his numerous lies about his background.

But that self-inflicted pariahship might not be the end of the troubles Mr Santos faces in the weeks ahead.

Read more in The Independent:

Here’s how George Santos could still be removed from office

George Santos to step down from House committees after meeting with Kevin McCarthy

Tuesday 31 January 2023 15:28 , John Bowden

George Santos will voluntarily step down from two House committees he recently joined after meeting Tuesday morning with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The move comes after weeks of calls from Democrats for Mr McCarthy to do more to punish the freshman congressman who has now admitted to lying about much of his background and faces a federal investigation by the Justice Department.

George Santos to step down from House committees after meeting with Kevin McCarthy

New York Democrats slam George Santos after Holocaust Remembrance Day speech

Tuesday 31 January 2023 13:15 , John Bowden

Democrats in New York are slamming GOP Representative and serial liar George Santos after he took to the House floor last week to deliver a speech marking Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The embattled Republican congressman paid tribute to victims and survivors of the Nazi-era genocide and condemned antisemitism during his address.

“Antisemitism is a plague in this nation, and it is undoubtedly up to us to ensure this kind of tragedy is never to be seen again,” he said.

Why some were disgusted by his remarks:

New York Democrats slam George Santos after Holocaust Remembrance Day speech

Federal prosecutors said to be investigating George Santos as some donors can’t be found

Tuesday 31 January 2023 12:30 , John Bowden

Federal prosecutors are likely looking into Republican Congressman George Santos’ campaign finances after the Justice Department asked the Federal Election Commission to postpone any enforcement action, sources told the Washington Post.

The development coincided with a Mother Jones investigation, which looked into donors to Mr Santos’s 2020 campaign, and discovered contact details for many people were incorrect, with addresses and names not only seeming not to match but often not to exist at all.

The Post reported that the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section asked the FEC to hold off on action as well as provide any relevant documents, according to knowledgeable sources speaking on condition of anonymity.

Read the full story here:

Federal prosecutors are already investigating George Santos, report says

George Santos lashes out at the media

Tuesday 31 January 2023 11:45 , John Bowden

George Santos fumed on Twitter that the media is trying to “smear” him as he hit out at what he claimed to be “fake posts” and “clown” interviews.

“From interviewing clowns, to creating fake “posts” the media continues to down spiral as their attempt to smear me fails. I am getting the job I signed up for done, while you all spiral out of control,” he tweeted late on Thursday.

He did not detail what he was referring to but his comments came as a new report from Patch accused him of making a vile joke about Hitler and killing Jews and Black people.

In a 2011 comment on Facebook, obtained by Patch, Mr Santos allegedly wrote: “hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh hiiiiiiiiiiiitlerrrrrrrrrrr (hight hitler) lolololololololololololol sombody kill her!! the jews and black mostly lolllolol!!! Dum.”

Mr Santos’ former roommate confirmed the account’s validity to the outlet and said that the congressman used to often make antisemitic comments. An attorney for Mr Santos told Patch the Facebook post is “completely false”.

The allegation comes as the congressman has previously been caught in a lie about being Jewish and his grandparents fleeing the Holocaust. He later walked back the claims saying he was “Jew-ish”.

Tuesday 31 January 2023 11:00 , John Bowden

George Santos has yet another headache coming his way, thanks to amended filings submitted to the FEC last week.

The embattled New York congressman was already facing calls for his resignation or ouster — from both parties — before his filings with the Federal Election Commission this week. Now, those filings are becoming the source of problem after problem, each with the potential to run afoul of the law.

The latest issue flagged by reporters with ABC News on Thursday stems from filings that several fundraising committees working on behalf of the Santos 2022 campaign made with the agency specifying a change in the individual assigned as treasurer for the committees. Those committees are now listed as having their financial operations overseen by Thomas Datwyler, a longtime specialist in political campaign finances.

But there’s just one problem: Mr Datwyler adamantly told ABC News that he is not working for the Santos campaign, and in fact had informed them of that before the FEC filings were submitted.

Read more:

Treasurer named in George Santos’ campaign says he doesn’t work for him

George Santos and Kevin McCarthy have mystery meeting

Tuesday 31 January 2023 10:52 , Rachel Sharp

Embattled GOP congressman George Santos had a mystery meeting with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday as he continues to be at the centre of a growing number of scandals.

The New York lawmaker was spotted coming out of Mr McCarthy’s office but refused to confirm the meeting to reporters.

The GOP leader then confirmed to CNN that he had met with Mr Santos.

The meeting comes as pressure continues to mount on Mr McCarthy to take action after the freshman congressman has been exposed as a serial liar and is now believed to be facing a criminal investigation by the Justice Department (DOJ).

ICYMI: Santos gets into Twitter spat with Trixie Mattel of RuPaul’s Drag Race

Tuesday 31 January 2023 09:30 , John Bowden

Trixie Mattel of RuPaul’s Drag Race and George Santos got into a feud on Twitter over the (now confirmed) rumours that the New York Congressman was a drag queen in the past.

WATCH: The imposter in Congress | On The Ground

Tuesday 31 January 2023 06:30 , John Bowden

George Santos made waves on the political scene of Washington D.C. by flipping New York’s 3rd congressional district seat in the November midterms, a once reliable Democratic seat. But, soon, reports emerged that many things in his résumé and the life story told to the public wasn’t all strictly true. Santos is refusing to stand aside as the controversy mounts but how long can that position hold?

The Independent’s Senior US Correspondent Richard Hall visited Long Island and Nassau county to find out the truth, trying to track down the real George Santos.

Watch here:

VOICES: Give him some credit, George Santos has performed a valuable public service

Tuesday 31 January 2023 05:00 , John Bowden

In the Long Island congressional district he was elected to represent, George Santos is a pariah.

He is the subject of almost daily protests and press conferences organised by local residents. The Nassau County Republican Party has disowned him, so too have six local Republican members of Congress. He is rarely seen out in public, or at his district office — even when Congress is on break.

His only safe space, it seems, is Washington DC.

This is electoral politics turned on its head. A member of Congress should, in theory, have more to fear from the snakepit of the Capitol than the people who elected them. The reason why Santos doesn’t tell us something about the state of the Republican Party today.

Read more:

Give him some credit, George Santos has performed a valuable public service

Former Santos roommate claims he threatened to send her ‘back to Brazil'

Tuesday 31 January 2023 04:00 , John Bowden

A former roommate of Mr Santos has claimed that he threatened to have her sent back to Brazil when she confronted him about stealing her jewellery and money.

The roommate, Adriana Parizzi, told Mother Jones that Mr Santos “made it very clear that I was in his country...and at any point, if I opened my mouth, he could send me back to Brazil”.

The 55-year-old told the outlet that she bought the tickets for the two of them to fly to New York in February 2011.

“He didn’t have any money to go back and I was the way for him to leave Brazil,” she said.

“He always convinced people that everything was a big misunderstanding,” she added.

Mr Santos has rejected the claims.

“Everybody that has ever wanted to come for me is coming for me and they are making s*** up on the way, and I look very much forward to poking holes in all these people who are making these insane accusations without any corroborating evidence—because it is false,” he told The New York Times.

In George Santos’s district, setting of The Great Gatsby, cries of ‘imposter’ abound

Tuesday 31 January 2023 03:00 , John Bowden

Long Island’s Gold Coast is known to many as the backdrop for a story about a fictional character who concocted fabulous tales about his past to climb the ranks of New York’s high society in a ceaseless quest for the object of his desire.

I’m talking, of course, about George Santos.

Nearly 100 years after F Scott Fitzgerald set The Great Gatsby in these same opulent shores, the 34-year-old Republican congressman has once again drawn the eyes of the world onto the eastward-stretching leg of New York City, and invited comparisons to the titular character of that Great American Novel along the way.

Where Jay Gatsby ultimately failed in his efforts, Santos succeeded in his. A man who repeatedly lied about his own history, from claiming his mother died on 9/11, to falsifying his education and net worth — not for love, but for donations, votes and influence — was elected to a seat in one of the most powerful legislative bodies in the world.

So, how did he do it? How did he fool so many people? How did no one know? The truth is, many did. But no one listened to them.

Read more:

In George Santos’s district, setting of The Great Gatsby, cries of ‘imposter’ abound

Man says business meeting with Santos felt like being in a ‘mafia movie'

Tuesday 31 January 2023 02:00 , John Bowden

Christian Lopez met with Mr Santos in November 2020 at the Il Bacco Ristorante in Queens.

“I felt like we were in ‘Goodfellas,’ like we were in a mafia movie,” Mr Lopez told The Washington Post. “They were like, ‘Hello, I see you are here with George, right this way.’ Bringing us to this fancy restaurant and doing all this, I felt like he was doing it to capture us.”

“He was saying if you give me $300,000, I am going to make you money. I’m going to make you $3 million,” the 35-year-old added.

Mr Santos was working as the New York regional director at Harbor City Capital, a Florida investment firm, which the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in April 2021 has taken millions from investors in what they called a “classic Ponzi scheme”.

FEC sends letter to Santos campaign requesting answers after treasurer change

Tuesday 31 January 2023 01:00 , John Bowden

The Federal Election Commission has sent a letter to the Santos campaign asking for more information on the paperwork submitted showing a new treasurer who claims he never took the job.

The Thursday letter states that Mr Santos’s campaign “may have failed to include the true, correct, or complete treasurer information” on the documents submitted on Wednesday showing that Thomas Datwyler is its new treasurer and the custodian of records.

Five separate fundraising committees received the same letter after they also sent in documents showing Mr Datwyler as their new treasurer.

The committees and the campaign have to respond before 2 March.

The FEC letter said that if they’re found to have provided a “materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation” on the documents, they could face criminal charges.

GOP congresswoman reiterates call for Santos to resign

Tuesday 31 January 2023 00:00 , John Bowden

Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina blasted embattled fellow GOP Representative George Santos of New York and said he should resign.

The South Carolina Republican spoke to The Independent in an exclusive interview.

“I mean, if you look at the allegations about his campaign finance, there are serious issues there,” she said.

Specifically, federal prosecutors are investigating irregularities regarding financial disclosures and loans, according to NBC News. “Nothing he has ever said has turned out to be true.”

“He should resign, but he won’t and if you watch the press gaggled up, chase him around Capitol Hill, he’s loving the attention,” she said. “He’s smiling and giggling and just soaking it up.”

Read more:

Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace calls on George Santos to resign

Santos claims old Facebook post joking about Hitler was fabricated

Monday 30 January 2023 23:15 , John Bowden

Mr Santos allegedly commented on a photo posted by a friend on Facebook in March 2011 showing what seems to be a salute with the caption “something like Hitler”.

“hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh hiiiiiiiiiiiitlerrrrrrrrrrr (hight hitler) lolololololololololololol sombody kill her!! the jews and black mostly lolllolol!!! Dum” Mr Santos seemingly wrote.

On Friday he rejected the allegation, telling NBC News, “I have a black father and a Jewish ancestry. Let’s have a genuine conversation. It’s not real”.

Former roommate says Santos looks like ‘a lost, cornered person’

Monday 30 January 2023 22:30 , John Bowden

Adriana Parizzi, 55, flew with Mr Santos to the US from Brazil and once shared an apartment with him in New York City.

She told Mother Jones that she remembers him as being “playful and smiley ... singing and dancing, joking about everything”.

But she also called him a “dreamer” who liked expensive restaurants, designer fashion, pricey whiskey, and as someone who boasted about his connections.

When she sees him in the media walking the halls of Congress, she told the outlet that she thinks “he has the look of a lost, cornered person”.

Former Republican congressman blames lack of Trump accountability for Santos rise

Monday 30 January 2023 21:45 , John Bowden

A former Republican congressman is blaming Washington’s lack of accountability for former President Donald Trump for causing the rise of George Santos.

“George Santos is what you get when you don’t hold Donald Trump accountable,” Joe Walsh tweeted on Friday.

Jamie Raskin calls Santos ‘compulsive liar and conman’ as he blasts McCarthy

Monday 30 January 2023 21:00 , John Bowden

Maryland Democrat called Mr Santos a “compulsive liar” and a “con man” as he blasted Speaker Kevin McCarthy for blocking several Democrats from a number of committees.

“By refusing to seat Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell and Ilhan Omar on their committees while seating compulsive liar and conman George Santos and bowing and scraping to compulsive liar and conman Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy has shown America exactly what he believes in: nothing,” Mr Raskin tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.

Former Trump impeachment counsel blasts McCarthy for lack of action on Santos

Monday 30 January 2023 20:21 , John Bowden

The lead majority counsel in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump, New York Representative Dan Goldman, took to Twitter on Thursday night to blast Speaker Kevin McCarthy for not booting Mr Santos of Congress.

“George Santos once made comments praising Hitler. As a candidate, he then lied about his grandparents being refugees from Hitler’s Holocaust. Yet @SpeakerMcCarthy still wants him in Congress. This is the Republican Party,” Mr Goldman wrote.

George Santos: Every lie disgraced incoming republican Congressman has been accused of making

Monday 30 January 2023 18:59 , John Bowden

It can be difficult keeping up with the list of fictions that George Santos has been accused of telling, admitted telling, or merely been caught spinning red-handed following a contradictory statement.

But, do not fret: The Independent is here, and we’re keeping track of the whole list of lies even as it continues to grow — both in number and in the sheer scale of the humiliation that it presents for not just Mr Santos, who remains adamant that he will serve two years in office as representative for New York’s third district, but for the Republican House caucus as a whole.

Go through the long (and growing) list with John Bowden in The Independent:

Every lie George Santos has been accused of making

New York Democrats slam George Santos after Holocaust Remembrance Day speech

Monday 30 January 2023 17:50 , John Bowden

Democrats in New York are slamming GOP Representative and serial liar George Santos after he took to the House floor last week to deliver a speech marking Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The embattled Republican congressman paid tribute to victims and survivors of the Nazi-era genocide and condemned antisemitism during his address.

“Antisemitism is a plague in this nation, and it is undoubtedly up to us to ensure this kind of tragedy is never to be seen again,” he said.

Why some were disgusted by his remarks:

New York Democrats slam George Santos after Holocaust Remembrance Day speech