George Santos says he has been asked to co-sponsor seven bills in Congress so far despite scandals
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‘I won’t let these scandals drag me down’: Republican fantasist George Santos says his colleagues have asked him to co-sponsor several bills as he dodges questions about a mysterious $500,000 loan
- The New York Republican questioned over the facts told DailyMail.com that he is a co-sponsor of seven bills.
- According to the congressional website, he is listed as a cosponsor of six bills.
- He did not answer questions about the source of a $500,000 campaign loan.
Republican Rep. George Santos is moving full speed ahead with the Capitol’s legislative work, he told DailyMail.com on Thursday, even amid the growing scandal over his backstory.
The freshman congressman from New York, who represents parts of Long Island and New York, has come under intense scrutiny after admitting he lied about his educational credentials, personal background and career. Since then, details about his family heritage and the source of his recent wealth have also crumbled, inspiring multiple investigations into whether the lies violated any laws.
Most recently, a modified Federal Election Commission filing raised questions about who funded his campaign. A $500,000 donation reported to have come from Santos’ ‘personal’ funds now says no, though it is still indicated to be a loan ‘from the candidate’.
Santos did not respond to questions from reporters about where the money came from Thursday morning when he walked into his office shortly after 10 a.m.
Reporters saw him briefly enter and then leave his office Thursday morning.
The lawmaker had crossed the threshold of his private workplace when he turned on hearing a question from DailyMail.com about whether he had been asked to co-sponsor any bills during his brief time in Congress thus far.
‘Yes! Seven,” Santos said, pointing in the direction of the DailyMail.com reporter.
When asked which ones, he added: ‘Take a look! Seven!’
A search of the official congressional website shows that Santos is, in fact, a co-sponsor of six bills, not seven.
Among them is an impeachment resolution against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, spearheaded by Texas Republican Rep. Pat Fallon and cosponsored by 34 other lawmakers.
Another is a constitutional amendment requiring term limits for members of Congress. That bill was introduced by Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina and has a total of 58 co-sponsors.
The most recent bill that Santos is listed as a co-sponsor of specifically targets the bail reform laws of his home state of New York.
House Republican Rep. George Santos of New York told DailyMail.com that he has been asked to co-sponsor seven bills.
Despite mounting scrutiny surrounding his backstory and multiple investigations, Santos is sitting on two House committees and appears to be doing legislative work.
It would award $10 million in Justice Department grants to states whose laws require courts to “consider dangerousness in determining bail or pretrial release.”
“To receive grants, states with these laws must also take steps to hire and retain law enforcement or manage a public awareness campaign that combats anti-police sentiment and improves police-community relations,” it says. a press release of the bill.
All 11 Republican members of New York’s congressional delegation support the bill, including its sponsor, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking Republican in the House.
Stefanik has otherwise remained silent on Santos, despite enthusiastically endorsing him and raising funds for his campaign in the run-up to the Nov. 8 race.
Now she herself is fielding questions, like the rest of the House Republican leadership, about what she knew about Santos’s lies and when.
One of the most closely watched revelations plaguing the new lawmaker has been the issue of his wealth, which he previously claimed came from a lucrative job on Wall Street.
But since then, reports have indicated that Santos actually spent some time working at a Queens call center, and was briefly part of a financial organization that the SEC called a “Ponzi scheme.”
The new FEC filing, first discovered by the Daily Beast on Tuesday, shows that a $500,000 loan from his campaign is no longer marked as “candidate’s personal funds,” though it had been in September 2022.
But both versions still indicate that it came ‘from the candidate’, raising questions about whether it was illegally channeled into his face.
He previously declined to answer questions about the origin of the total of $700,000 of his own money he allegedly lent to his campaign.
Asked about it by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida while hosting an episode of Steve Bannon’s War Room, Santos said, “I’ll tell you where it didn’t come from.” It did not come from China, Ukraine or Burisma.