George Santos dropped more than $1,300 in campaign cash at GOP club post-House expulsion
George Santos’ congressional campaign splurged at a swanky Republican club steps from the Capitol days after Santos became just the sixth House of Representatives member to be expelled — and billed his donors for it, according to new filings.
The lying former Long Island rep’s campaign spent $1,367 on “meals” at the Capitol Hill Club on Dec. 4, per a campaign finance report filed Wednesday.
Located cheek-by-jowl with House office buildings and the House chamber itself, the exclusive club grants membership on an invite-only basis, according to its website. Its grill provides breakfast buffets, lunches, dinners and cocktails.
Santos claimed early Thursday that the “expenses in question took place on November 2nd and 15th” and that “the Capitol Hill club bills my account around the 2nd-4th of each month.”
His campaign listed other disbursements at that location during the final quarter of 2023.
Santos, 35, was expelled Dec. 1 after a scathing House Ethics Committee report concluded that he “blatantly stole from his campaign” and lied to donors.
The report highlighted a variety of jarring expenditures from Santos’ campaign or his political firms — including purchases of Botox, OnlyFans subscriptions and more.
Wednesday’s filing with the Federal Election Commission shows the indicted former congressman is still grappling with campaign finance woes.
His campaign is buried in debt, with outstanding obligations around $776,080, according to the records.
Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, his campaign hauled in $11,415 while dispensing $11,857 and had $22,237 cash on hand, the filing shows.
During the fourth quarter of 2023, his campaign made at least three payments of around $2,000 to the Capitol Hill Club, the report indicates.
Last year, Santos was slapped with 23 counts including wire fraud, making materially false statements to the FEC, aggravated identity theft, falsifying records and more.
Prosecutors allege that Santos swindled dollars from donors, conspired to cook the books on his campaign finances, and lied about the whole thing.
Last fall, his former campaign treasurer Nancy Marks pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge and appears to have cooperated with authorities investigating Santos.
Santos has ruled out running for Congress in 2024, but hasn’t kept the door closed to mounting a political comeback at some point in the future. He’s also hinted at plea talks with prosecutors.
After his exile, Santos has sought to settle some scores in Congress, filing ethics reports and trying to gin up support to go after his political rivals.
“It’s time to expele [sic] @CoriBush and @IlhanMN!’ Santos posted on X Wednesday, alluding to two recent scandals surrounding the two “Squad” members.
Meanwhile, the battle to fill his empty seat is raging in New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
Santos’ predecessor, former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), is battling Nassau County legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip for the seat in a special election set for Feb. 13.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a top GOP super PAC, is planning to dump $2.6 million in TV ads on the race during the final two-week homestretch.
