In January, TPM broke the story that donors to Rep. George Santos’ (R-NY) 2022 campaign were charged for contributions they didn’t intend to give. On Tuesday, roughly nine months after that story, federal prosecutors in New York charged Santos with credit card fraud and identity theft related to a “scheme” that mirrors the allegations first revealed in TPM’s reporting.
The crimes by the GOP never will stop…
TPM! TPM! Hurray for real investigative journalism!
I knew that TPM was part of the deep state! /s
Great work, I really appreciate seeing stuff like this. It’s a pleasure to be a member, but actually being an agent of karma is simply intoxicating.
There will be other cases. Although it has been said before, one of Trump’s most toxic effects was the permissions it gave to swine like Santos if only by example, the unearthing and spread of increasingly brazen human foul.
And the GOP is threatening Rep. Bowman w/EXPULSION and this ‘alleged crook’ is a member in Good Standing?
Jesus Christ.
Don’t bring Him into this, we have enough problems as it is.
This buried gem is the most surprising nugget in a mind-blowing, vast web of RW ratfuckery…
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"Our coverage included an interview with an operative who briefly worked with Santos’ campaign before quitting because they got “nervous” and “defensive that things were not on the up and up.”
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TPM actually unearthed an R operative who, however tepidly, found something slightly worrying about their utterly depraved, soul-stealing, Aliens-level parasitic infliction upon their own ‘constitutents’.
The broken window theory of crime and law enforcement applied to politics.
I am betting that conservatives and white nationalist christians will stand with George Santos and send him all the money he needs if he decides to fund raise off the indictments. I hope the folks who love George send out the emails now. He will have enough to take all the princesses of Arabia on a date by the morning.
Lauren Bonobo was able to raise a ton of money from the Beetlejuice activities.
It’s like this morning we were discussing William Donohue and I wrote, just what the Church needs, more William Donohue. I then realized that it sounded like I think William Donohue is the answer to ‘any’ issue. NO he is not.
I agree. God is not to blame for any of this. It’s that pesky Free Will Conundrum. People can CHOOSE to be dicks.
Republicans always have the best indictments.
I know Santos was completely shameless, jerking on every lever and mashing every button trying to scam or steal every single dollar he could. But look at the vast web of ‘infrastructure’ and ‘actors’ that were readily available to him in the RW ecosphere. Even in a complacently held D House district, with an absolute sham and conman for an R candidate. He had nothing going for him. No real backers, no real constituency, already running from debt and crimes and angry hornet nests, no resume, no credentials, and not one item in his bio that could withstand the slightest scrutiny.
I understand that corruption and the lure of big money can happen higher up the food chain…I am flabbergasted by what was occurring from Day 1 with The Ultimate Nobody.
What Santos did is shocking, especially running people’s credit cards for unauthorized payments, and deliberately deceiving people as to the nation of his Redstone organization. But the amounts are relatively small, even though unauthorized payments of $48,000 were taken from one supporter. It’s appropriate to compare these examples of fraud with those of the former Defraudster in Chief. Trump led the way on conning his supporters and the general public. And he did everything in a large and grandiose way. Santos is merely a follower who somehow felt empowered to copy Trump methods, on a smaller scale, for his own advantage.
Glad to see Santos has finally become authentic at something.
…being a Republican.
This is so hard to square with the party of Personal Reprobatability, Lawn Hoarder, and Bible Thumpin’…
Sometimes the simple words are the best words. Santos is a liar and a thief, a perfectly straightforward fraud and con man.
And yet, he somehow seems more genuine than a lot of the other GOPniks standing around him.
That should be:
Jesus H Christ. Using his middle initial shows how mad you are.
Go Team TPM!
Y’all ROCK