The George Santos–expelled–from–Congress narrative arc went from “This is kind of entertaining” to “Oh, wow, he’s really on Cameo” to “Please, no more” in record time.
Which is probably why, so far, there doesn’t seem to be much of an appetite for a Santos redux, in either eastern Long Island—where he’s attempting to run for Congress again, this time as an independent in the district that includes the Hamptons—or literally anywhere else.
On Monday, Santos’ newfound campaign committee submitted its first quarterly filing with the Federal Election Commission. And the committee reported, somewhat comically, that it had zero donors, had raised zero dollars, and that there had been zero dollars spent.
Santos has since provided some curious explanations for the lack of fundraising. He told the Daily Beast he won’t raise any money until he’s confirmed on the general election ballot as an independent candidate, a task that will reportedly require him to obtain the signatures of 3,500 voters in New York’s 1st District by the end of May. And he told the New York Daily News that he’s trying to cut against unfair media narratives. “If I raise money, you’re going to say I’m doing it to grift or to fund my lavish lifestyle or whatever you want to write,” he said, referencing the credible allegations of his having previously used contributions to fund his lavish lifestyle. (In addition to a House Ethics investigation that found “substantial evidence” of criminal misconduct by Santos, he also faces 23 felony charges, including stealing donors’ identities and spending their money without their consent. Santos has denied wrongdoing, and a trial date is tentatively set for September.)
The $0 fundraising quarter for Santos’ 2024 campaign got some well-earned media attention this week, but a separate report about the zombified remnants of Santos’ 2022 campaign was also submitted to the FEC on Monday. That report revealed a bunch of still-outstanding debts to an eclectic collection of characters from the Santos Extended Universe—none of whom are presumably thrilled to hear that, as a strategic matter, he has no intention of replenishing his fundraising coffers anytime soon.
There are, for instance, roughly $6,000 in newly recorded debts to the consulting firm of the Santos campaign’s treasurer, Jason D. Boles. That’s his current campaign treasurer, to be clear.
Being in debt to your own treasurer, the person tasked with tallying your finances, is a dynamic that could charitably be described as … not great. And yet, in a brief phone interview on Tuesday, Santos told me that Boles is sticking by him. (Boles, for his part, said “no comment,” hung up on me midquestion about Santos, and didn’t answer my email query.)
“He’s still my treasurer, and I don’t think I need to express or explain to you what my strategy is moving forward to make sure I pay all my consultants,” Santos told me. “The one thing I can tell you is that everyone that’s ever worked for me has always gotten paid. Obviously, the circumstances here are a little extenuating, but yes, everybody will be paid eventually.”
On the one hand, it’s not unusual for political campaigns to continue filing FEC reports well after the actual campaigning has ceased; there are often debts and obligations left to pay—legal fees, consulting, media production, that sort of thing, said Robert Maguire, research director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Campaign committees can use cash on hand, or solicit more contributions, to pay off prior debts.
On the other hand, the 2022 Santos campaign’s reported debts and obligations have grown larger since he won his race, a decidedly less normal situation. Of the $781,932.07 in debts and obligations currently owed, $630,000 are purported personal loans from Santos to his own…
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