The Federal Election Commission sent a letter dated Tuesday to truth-challenged Long Island lawmaker George Santos, asking him to name his campaign treasurer or face the loss of his ability to receive campaign donations.
“It is required that for any committee to conduct any business, they must have an active treasurer,” said the four-paragraph note. “Failure to appoint a treasurer will result in the inability of the committee to accept contributions.”
The letter, which set a deadline of next Tuesday for Santos to respond, came after the Republican’s former treasurer Nancy Marks resigned last month.
The FEC sent a letter dated Jan. 26 to Thomas Datwyler, the listed replacement for Marks, asking him to confirm records that named him as Santos’ new treasurer. Datwyler’s lawyer promptly responded to the agency, writing that Datwyler was not, in fact, Santos’ treasurer, and had not authorized forms stating that he was.
The response from Datwyler’s attorney, Derek Ross, asked that the matter be referred to “the appropriate law enforcement agency to determine whether a crime has occurred.”
But it did not settle the question of who, if anyone, serves as Santos’ campaign treasurer.
And so the FEC tried again Tuesday, reminding Santos that campaign treasurers must be replaced within 10 days. Marks said in a filing that she resigned Jan. 25
Datwyler and Marks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Santos’ lawyer Joseph Murray said in a text, “I see that the FEC is showing their love for George on Valentine’s Day. A candy-gram would have sufficed.”
“We have no comment on this,” Murray added.
Santos, 34, has represented a section of Long Island and a sliver of eastern Queens since last month, when he was sworn into Congress. He fashioned a fictional résumé for himself as a candidate, misleading voters about his education, religion, family history, professional experience and property ownership.
[ George Santos faces growing legal scrutiny: ‘He needs his lawyer on speed dial’ ]
A watchdog filed an FEC complaint against Santos last month, saying that he appeared to have conducted a so-called straw donor scheme to pour someone else’s money into his 2022 campaign under his own name.
Several prosecutors’ offices have launched investigations into the congressman. He is due to report his first filings for the next cycle by the spring.