Why would someone donate to a campaign to re-elect Rep. George Santos? Santos was was indicted in May by the federal government on 13 counts of wire fraud, embezzlement, embezzlement, and lying on government disclosure forms. He has pleaded not guilty.
This week, House Democrats put Republicans on the spot by launching the resolution condemning Santos because of his many lies about his reputation. Senior Home Director Kevin McCarthybecause of his low profile and often controversial position, he has resisted efforts to oust Santos, but told Fox News last month that he intends to defend the seat. “and another Republican.” In January, Republican leaders in Nassau County called for Santos to be impeached in the House for his lies, calling him a “stain” in his district.
But Santos is persevering. In April he announced his decision. And despite the federal charges, he still managed to raise $179,000 from April to June for his campaign. The New York Times He said, citing filings with the Federal Election Commission last Friday.
Now it’s not so much for candidates in New York’s lean-Democrat state. But Santos used the money to his advantage.
REAL STORY: US Representative George Santos has reimbursed himself $85K that comes from a lack of campaign funds
The Times wrote:
Santos used $85,000 of the money on May 30 to pay back. He previously reported that he gave his campaign more than $700,000 in personal loans.
The Times reported that only three of Santos’ re-election campaign donors said they lived in the congressional district that includes parts of Long Island and New York City in Queens.
The Daily Beast and Mother Jones they all reported that Santos had made significant investments with the supporters of Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, who is a right-wing ally of Steve Bannon.
Guo and Bannon share one more thing in common: they both face fraud charges for allegedly running away from their followers. In fact, in August 2020, government agents asighed Bannon on Guo’s luxury yacht after being prosecuted for defrauding people who donated money to a foundation he set up to build a wall on the US-Mexico border. Trump pardoned Bannon in the final hours of his term, but he was are accused of similar crimes and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in September 2022.
Guo fled China in 2014 to avoid fraud charges there. In the United States, he gained a following in the Chinese community by portraying himself as a strong opponent of the Chinese communist government. But it was against the law in the US Ms. Jones wrote:
In March, the Department of Justice was called Guo is sending a series of fraudulent business strategies to defraud his fans of more than $1 billion. Prosecutors say Guo used investors’ money to pay for mansions and luxury cars, a $36,000 mattress, and a $27 million yacht. He is accused of wire fraud, stock fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. Guo says the feds are following him under a Chinese government order to silence him.
Guo has been stay without bail since he was arrested on March 15 because he was considered a flight risk.
The Daily Beast newspaper, citing a report from the Hark Herald Press, an independent news outlet that monitors Chinese political affairs, said that almost all donors to the Santos campaign were linked to a group established by Guo and Bannon. New Federal State of China (NFSC). The group advocates for government reform in China and declares itself to be the anti-communist Chinese government in exile. Guo also spent thousands of dollars to support Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election. Mother Jones.
Mother Jones also said that of the 50 people who filed financial statements for Santos, about a dozen of them, spread across the US, had Chinese or Asian names and each gave $3,300 to Santos, the amount allowed under federal law for election campaigns. original. Those contributions topped nearly $130,000 of campaign contributions Santos had recorded.
These donors included a part-time banker from Georgia, students from Pennsylvania and California, a masseuse from Texas and a sports team member from New York, according to the Times. These three articles were able to reach only a few of these donors. Xuehong Zhang, a masseuse from Plano, Texas, who identified himself as Chinese, told the Times that he donated to Santos because “I see he wants to bring down the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). I just want to get rid of the CCP” He said he learned about Santos on Gettr, although he did not mention Guo’s name.
Gettr is a social networking site that former co-workers reported The Washington Post is managed by Guo. Its CEO and public face is Jason Miller, a former adviser to Donald Trump.
When asked about these donations, Santos told The Daily Beast that he thought “fundraising” was done without giving details. That did not explain how tens of thousands of dollars poured into his campaign at the same time from donors scattered in the US Mrs. Jones said that Guo’s supporters at one time distributed a list to help collect campaign donations for Santos.
So what did Santos do to win the favor of Guo’s followers? Campaign donations began to flow in mid-May after Santos suddenly became concerned about the health of Guo, also known as Miles Guo. This started a few days before the DOJ impeached Santos on May 10.
On May 5, Santos showed up at Guo’s mansion in Mahwah, New Jersey, which the Justice Department said Guo bought with money from his supporters, Ms. Jones said. Santos spoke to Guo’s aides who appeared on Gettr where he promised to make sure “Miles Guo is free and given a chance to be tried.”
On May 6, Santos captioned the video: “Miles Guo is a CCP political prisoner inside the United States. Let this sink in. Free Miles Guo.”
Santos also contributed all the money 11 bills targeting the CCP, the Daily Beast reported. Santos also spoke on the floor of the House when he announced: “The charges against Miles Guo are just part of the organized campaign of political persecution that the CCP has faced,” said Ms. Jones.
Ms. Jones wrote:
He then introduced what he called the “Guo Act,” which is based on the unproven idea that China is manipulating US courts to advance its interests. The law would require federal judges and prosecutors to provide evidence of alleged financial transactions to determine whether they received money from foreign governments. The bill isn’t going anywhere.
And in June Santos joined Bannon in attending the third anniversary celebration of the New Federal State of China in New York.
Santos went so far as to blame himself for helping Guo. Raising funds on the day of his indictment, Santos tweeted: “I asked questions about #MilesGuo & DOJ sued me 5 days later!” He added that he needed financial support “so that I can continue to fight for freedom.”