It’s not as if the George Santos case shakes Washington to its core. But the Conservative MP’s story is as bizarre as Hollywood comedy, and it fits into a political landscape where facts are as interchangeable as an Instagram profile picture. In the case of the 34-year-old newcomer to parliament, new inconsistencies come to light almost every day, but he lets them bounce off him unmoved.
Almost four weeks ago, the US Parliament was reconstituted and the time for the countless employees in politics to find new jobs in the offices of MPs on Capitol Hill is slowly coming to an end. The “Washington Post” asks the obvious question: Who actually wants to work for George Santos? The man who dreamed up half his life, who lied about his studies, his previous jobs, even about the alleged persecution of his ancestors by the Nazis.
“Accepting a job with Santos can be tricky. Observers doubt whether those will ever get a job in the congress business again afterwards,” writes the newspaper. Each MP is entitled to up to 18 employees, but only details of five positions are publicly available. Santos has made his campaign chief his chief of staff, and one of his assistants has experience with three other MPs, each of whom he only served for short periods of time.
For Santos, the current hiring period has the unbeatable advantage of robbing him of time for expected public relations. The imposter still hardly explains himself, he simply sits out calls for his resignation – although they are now appearing on major political portals: “Santos’ around 150,000 voters, just like the 600,000 residents of his constituency in Queens and Long Island, deserve to hear answers from him personally. We want the truth, he owes it to us. Now.” With these words, a self-confessed Santos voter ended his open letter on “The Hill”.
The investigating authorities will soon be pushing for answers. US media are now reporting new inconsistencies in his campaign financing. More precisely: Where exactly did the $500,000 he spent on his campaign come from? According to official forms, he did not use his own funds for this, reports NBC News. But Santos had previously said so. “Regardless of where the money came from – from the bank or from his company – Santos should have named the sources,” says Robert Maguire, who deals with the transparency behavior of MPs.
The public prosecutor’s office in the New York borough of Brooklyn has been investigating Santos for several weeks. She examines his finances and the origin of the campaign funds. Nassau County, east of New York City, in the Santos constituency, is also “scrutinizing a number of issues,” prosecutors said. There are suspicions that the 34-year-old has connections to companies that are said to have cheated customers with pyramid schemes.
Quellen: NBC News, “Washington Post”, “The Hill”
