Dem
51
GOP
49
Speaking of Republicans with a reputation for shady behavior, Rep.-elect George Santos (R-NY) is still dominating the headlines. We thought that someone like Elim Garak, the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "tailor" who constantly lied about his backstory, and who said "The truth is usually just an excuse for lack of imagination," could only exist in the world of fiction. But Santos has proven that we were quite wrong.
At this point, if a reporter looks into anything that Santos said about himself during his two campaigns for the House, they are almost certain to catch him in an apparent lie. CNN, for example, uncovered a whole bunch more of them, including Santos' story that he went to a prominent prep school and then had to leave when his family's business suffered a downturn (there's no record of him attending the school, Horace Mann); his claim that his family name was once Zabrovsky (this was when he was claiming to be Jewish; Santos fundraised with that name, targeting mostly Jewish donors); and his account of his mother "fleeing socialism" in Belgium in order to settle in Brazil (she was born in Brazil).
Santos' mother is also the focal point of what is probably the sleaziest new lie to come to light yesterday. In an obvious play for sympathy votes from New Yorkers, he said that his mother worked at the World Trade Center, was present for the 9/11 attacks, and ultimately got and died from cancer due to inhaling carcinogens on that day. There are many problems with this story, as it turns out. First, there is no record of his mother working for anyone after 1994. Second, when she was working, it was as a nurse and a domestic, not exactly professions that are in high demand in financial sector buildings. Third, nobody with the last name Devolder has ever applied for victim compensation or has participated in any of the class-action lawsuits related to 9/11 injuries.
With all of this said, the big news isn't that another bunch of Santos lies has been exposed. We only mention the latest on that front because we're writing about him anyhow. In truth, the big news is that the story has attracted the attention of federal prosecutors, who are looking into his finances. Specifically, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which is interested in the source of the more than $700,000 that Santos donated to his campaign.
This is a double-whammy for Santos. First, because while it's reprehensible to leverage one's dead mother for votes, particularly based on a tissue of lies, that is not illegal. On the other hand, financial crimes most certainly are illegal. And they leave a paper trail, so they tend to be easy to prove. If Santos cannot show a legitimate source for that money, and quickly, that's going to be a real problem. Oh, and nothing we've seen from him suggests he's clever enough to conjure up a fake paper trail; certainly not one convincing enough to fool the feds.
The second problem is that while New York authorities had already announced an investigation, their powers are somewhat limited. Recall, for example, that Donald Trump and his company have already been popped for financial shadiness, but that AG Letitia James has had to pursue civil charges rather than criminal ones. It is much, much harder under New York state law to be criminally convicted of financial crimes. By contrast, the feds have much broader legal authority to pursue criminal charges, and more powerful legal tools for doing so. You do not want to be on their bad side, and Santos now is. (Z)