House Speaker Kevin McCarthy might have embattled Rep. George Santos’s back, but two of the freshman lawmaker’s former campaign staffers claimed things felt fishy from the start and predicted a tough road ahead with substantial legal fallout for the New York politician.
“Lying on your resume is one thing, but I think George is going to be perp walked out of a building because of this financial mess,” one former staffer told Talking Points Memo.
GEORGE SANTOS AND ADAM KINZINGER CLASH OVER REPUBLICAN’S CONTROVERSIES
Another said they got “nervous” and “defensive” because “things were not on the up and up.”
The ex-staffer also claimed bookkeeping by the campaign became problematic and was incomplete.
“I thought that the lack of a financial disclosure, the messiness of the books, and the reporting were not great,” the person, who requested anonymity, said.
Santos has been accused of fictionalizing large chunks of his resume and is facing multiple ethics complaints of improper campaign reporting and spending. He has been vilified by members of his own party following a wave of negative headlines that exposed the many fabrications he’s made about his life, education, family, faith, and work.
One veteran political operative told TPM that they also quit working with Santos’s campaign after things seemed off.
Going through Santos’s records left the consultant with more questions than answers, including why he failed to file a personal financial disclosure form in a timely manner as required by law.
On Wednesday, New York state and local Republicans called on Santos to resign, less than a week after he was sworn in as a congressman. Santos has said his many mistruths will not affect his work representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District and has refused to resign.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
McCarthy, who was elevated to House speaker last week after 15 rounds of voting, said he would not push for Santos to step down. That didn’t stop others from doing so. The number of lawmakers demanding Santos’s resignation has continued to grow.
