The embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY) — who was hit earlier this month with a 13-count indictment that included seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives — was temporarily listed as the treasurer for his own campaign and several affiliated committees before being quickly replaced.
According to filings made by the committees with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Santos named himself as the treasurer to his campaign on Friday. Just a day later, new filings by his committees swapped out the New York Republican’s name with a new treasurer: Jason D. Boles. CNN and the Washington Post first reported the news.
Among the new filings were letters indicating that one Andrew Olson — who had previously been identified as the treasurer before Santos in filings — had resigned from the role.
Olson’ supposed resignation comes shortly after the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) accused the New York congressman of fabricating his treasurer’s identity.
In a complaint filed with the FEC, CREW alleged that there is reason to believe that Olson, Santos’s former treasurer, does not exist.
“Mr. Olson is not and has not been identified as a treasurer to any political committee outside of those connected to Representative Santos,” the complaint said. “No one asked about it appears to know Mr. Olson, including those knowledgeable of political committee treasurers and New York Republican politics.”
Santos sent a series of tweets on Saturday for “debunking the nonsense!”
“On Friday, May 19, I was properly notified by my campaign’s then Treasurer, Mr. Andrew Olson, of his resignation,” Santos said. “I appreciate the work Andrew and his team have done for the campaign and appreciate his willingness to ensure a smooth transition.”
The change in treasurer is only the most recent change to the Santos team.
The law firm assisting the New York congressman with matters before the FEC and the House Ethics Committee dropped him as a client, according to the Post, who talked to a source familiar with the situation.
And last week, Santos’ communications director Naysa Woomer resigned, writing in her resignation letter that the congressman “never took one point of professional advice.”
Asked about these developments and the allegations concerning Olson’s existence, Santos’ office referred TPM to his website.
“If you have any questions about the campaign, please refer to the campaign website for all the information,” Santos’ spokesperson told TPM.
In his tweets over the weekend, Santos said he was briefly listed as his own treasurer as part of a “smooth transition.”
“I have retained the professional services of a new treasurer to ensure the campaign moves forward in compliance,” he added.
Santos’ new treasurer, Boles, formerly worked for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
