DOJ Reportedly Asked the Federal Election Commission to ‘Hold Off’ on Santos While Criminal Probe is Underway
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The Department of Justice asked the Federal Election Commission to “hold off on any enforcement action” aimed at fabulist Rep. George Santos (R-NY) while it conducts its criminal probe, reported the Washington Post on Friday.
The Post cited two people familiar with the request from the DOJ and noted that the move is “the clearest sign to date that federal prosecutors are examining Santos’s campaign finances.”
“The Justice Department request also asked that the FEC provide any relevant documents to the Justice Department, according to the knowledgeable people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity,” added the report.
Santos has been under scrutiny for his financial disclosures, including self-funding his campaign despite apparently being unable to pay his own rent. Santos is under investigation by both federal and local authorities. Nassau County, N.Y., district attorney’s office is investigating the “numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated with Congressman-elect Santos.”
Santos has also been linked to a company, Harbor City Capital, for which he claimed he managed $1.5 billion fund, which the SEC later called a “ponzi scheme.”
The New York Times reported in late December that “both investigations followed reporting in The New York Times that uncovered that Mr. Santos had made false claims about his educational and professional background, including whether he worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.”
The Times added:
Questions remain about how Mr. Santos has generated enough personal wealth to be able, as campaign finance filings show, to lend his campaign $700,000. Mr. Santos has said his money comes from his company, the Devolder Organization, but he has provided little information about its operations.
