As George Santos is arrested and charged on 13 different accounts—including money laundering, fraud and theft of public funds, End Citizens United (ECU) is calling attention to Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s complicity in Santos’ illegal actions.
In August 2021, then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and his staff were informed that George Santos’ campaign was illegally impersonating McCarthy’s chief of staff to solicit campaign contributions. Federal law states that no person shall fraudulently misrepresent themselves as acting on behalf of a candidate or an agent of a candidate for the purpose of soliciting contributions.
McCarthy admitted he was informed, yet chose to turn a blind eye and kept it under wraps, prioritizing his party’s chances of winning the NY-03 election over the interests of the families in the district. Worse, McCarthy actively backed Santos’ 2022 campaign.
This fraudulent activity was a giant red flag that McCarthy knew about as early as August 2021. He helped keep it quiet, allowing George Santos’ corruption to persist.
“Speaker McCarthy may have been the victim of one of George Santos’ frauds, but he deserves a lot of credit for enabling Santos’ corruption and deception by turning a blind eye to his illegal actions,” said ECU Spokesperson Bawadden Sayed. “He had a duty to report Santos, but instead, he chose to protect his party’s interests over the interests of the hardworking families in the district. Now that Santos is indicted, McCarthy should answer why he kept this illegal activity quiet instead of reporting it to the proper authorities. We’ll make sure voters in NY-03 remember McCarthy’s complicity and betrayal.”
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