USA
New allegations against Republican US Representative Santos
Rep. George Santos leaves a Republican Party meeting on Capitol Hill. photo
© Andrew Harnik/AP/dpa
Did George Santos use other people’s identities to gain personal gain? The allegations against the Trump loyalist are serious – but there are hardly any calls for his resignation from within his own party.
Against the US representative who was heavily criticized for making up details in his CV New serious allegations have been made against George Santos.
In an indictment published in the evening (local time), the 35-year-old Republican is accused of, among other things, fraud, making false statements to the FEC electoral commission, falsifying documents to obstruct the FEC, conspiracy against the USA and aggravated identity theft. The new charge replaces and supplements a previous charge against the MP. Santos is also accused of money laundering and theft of public funds. He is also said to have made false statements to the House of Representatives.
Did money end up in Santos’ account?
Prosecutors are now also accusing the Republican of stealing the identities of people, including family members, and charging the credit cards of his own party donors without their authorization. This is how Santos is said to have replenished his campaign coffers. According to the indictment, some of the money also ended up in Santos’ own account. Santos had pleaded not guilty to the first arraignment in May. He was released after paying bail.
Santos has been a member of a New York district in the US House of Representatives since last November and presents himself as a supporter of former US President Donald Trump. His rise to the federal political stage was overshadowed from the start by allegations of fraud and deception. The Republican is said to have invented a large part of the resume with which he presented himself to voters in 2022. Despite repeated calls for his resignation from Democrats and individual Republicans, Santos continues to sit as a member of the Congressional Chamber.