Following the news of newly minted Rep. George Santos stepping down from his committee assignments amid a flurry of scandals, the New York Republican's longtime campaign treasurer has resigned. It appears that it's only a matter of time before Santos steps down, too, because it looks like Santos has violated campaign finance laws, as some of his top donors don't appear to exist.
The New York Times reports:
The treasurer, Nancy Marks, whose resignation was made public on Tuesday in letters filed with the Federal Election Commission, has been with from Mr. Santos since his first run for office, assisting with accounting and fund-raising and joining him in at least one for-profit business endeavor.
Much of what Ms. Marks oversaw is the focus of several complaints filed with the FEC; Mr. Santos, a Republican elected in November to represent New York's Third Congressional District, is also the subject of separate inquiries by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
On Tuesday night, the Santos campaign filed a year-end report bearing the signature of a new treasurer, Andrew Olson. But the filings offered little detail beyond his name, and the campaign has not yet filed paperwork designating Mr. Olson in that role.
Ms. Marks's letters said that she had resigned on Jan. 25 — the same day that the Santos campaign committee, as well as several affiliated financial committees, filed paperwork stating that Ms. Marks was being replaced as treasurer by Thomas Datwyler.
You really can't believe anything coming from Santos's team:
But Mr. Datwyler, a veteran campaign finance consultant affiliated with a number of Republican committees, said that he had told Mr. Santos's team that he was not interested in assuming those duties. His lawyer, Derek Ross, sent a letter to the F.E.C. saying that Mr. Datwyler "did not file or authorize" the new campaign paperwork and that he did not authorize the forms "to be signed on his behalf."
The lawyer also suggested that the F.E.C. "refer this matter to the appropriate law enforcement agency to determine whether a crime has occurred."
A new poll shows that seventy-eight percent of voters in Santos's district want him to resign (including 89% of Democrats, 72% of independents/others, and 71% of Republicans). Stick a fork in George. He is done.
