>

I am shocked that a white supremacist grifter in congress has connections to… bad people with money.
So if you look at his FEC filings, which are public, you see a lot of whole dollar amounts, which stinks of fraud. These are for things like Ubers, convenience stores, gas stations, etc., places you NEVER see whole dollar amounts. 
But here is where the fraud sits in plain sight. You also can see he has a payment listed to the Capital Hill Club. Problem with that one is that the Capital Hill Club doesn’t accept payment from non-members. Santos was not a member when he claimed payment. This guy is a walking campaign finance fraud indictment.
Edit: changed FTC to FEC >

Not only whole dollar amounts.  His campaign had over 40 disbursements between $199 and $200.  37 of which were for exactly $199.99.  $200 is the threshold at which receipts must be filed.  They aren't even really trying to hid the fact that they were fudging the expense reports. >

They know they'll never be prosecuted.... >

Garland is limited on prosecuting him due to a memo from the Nixon administration that says you cant prosecute a Republican office holder within two years of a federal election.  Otherwise I am sure he would look into it. >

I don't know if the memo is a joke or reality is that ridiculous. >

It's a joke but there is am actual memo from the Trump administration that limits the DOJ ability to prosecute sitting "politicians". Now all investigations into politicians will now require personal authorization from Garland to be green lit. They decided to keep the memo into the Biden administration however. >

That orange bastard fucked up so much damn shit. >

We have to remember that dozens upon dozens, if not hundreds to thousands, within the government let him do so, whether due to apathy, actual-collusion, or just plain purposefully being rendered powerless to be able to. It's a literal international conspiracy unfolding before our eyes of US citizen catspaws/accomplices being funded with global oligarch money to control and unravel every semblance of actual/legitimate/real control and dignity the US actually has.
It's absurd to me that essentially every single regulatory or watchdog across the entire Fed just rolled over to let him do what he wanted (right down to firing staff who wouldn't).
In fact, this thing about Top Secret documents being allowed to be taken by sitting Presidents is ridiculous. Trump used it for actual chief-executive-level international espionage if the implications are true (and they probably goddamn are, considering his open greed), and Biden's handling just says they're sloppy about national secrets if you're the fucking President. >

I mean, why would the president ever indict a former president for crimes? Theyd just open themselves up to future scrutiny/legal troubles/prison for their crimes (i.e. mostly due to war crimes and corruption tbh). Theyre not going to limit their own powers, and its all about power.
I dont like it at all, mind you, but i have a feeling that thats whats going on w.r.t doj slow walking on trumps crimes before/during/after his presidency. >

Santos' success reads to me like an experiment: "how unchecked, open, insecure, unenforced, and exploitive is the American political system to push specific candidates into key positions to completely subvert the governing structure of the US."
What happens to Santos now is irrelevant. The fact that he made it in with next to no resistance has probably given whoever was moving him like a pawn on a chess board invaluable information on the next BIG SHOW STOPPING POWER PLAY in 2024. >

I’ve been wondering about this for sometime, but what happened to opposition research? Did the Democrat assume he’d win the position because it was a district in NY? >

They also blew it on Kirsten Sinema. Wolves in Wolf clothing, but the DNC was clueless. >

Sinema might be worse - she has been an elected official with a public vote history since 2005. 
The fact that she was campaigning with a platform that contradicted her voting history should have been a major red flag. She's joined some important bills in AZ, sure, but overall her voting record screams corporate pawn - far from a died-in-the-wool progressive.
The DNC loves name recognition and a history of being elected, so I suspect they turned a blind eye to her campaign's blatant lying in order to guarantee a win in the district. >

She really misrepresented herself to the voters as well. Her demeanor since being elected has been very revealing about who she was all along. That “Fuck Off” ring she wore told me more about her than anything she ever said. >

If she tried to run again a potato could win the primary over her. >

I hope you’re right. She changed to Independent in a pretty transparent attempt to split the vote. I’m hoping she just takes her high dollar consulting gig and disappears. >


I hope you’re right.

She pissed off a lot of us locally. Wouldn't be surprised at all. >

This seems more and more of a let's see how dirty we can go and get away with it kinda play. I suspect that Santoss past was not as hidden in republican circles as they claim. This feels to much like a fishing attempt gone well and now they have no coherent plan for how to continue with the scam. >

Ignoring it and hoping no consequences come has actually gone very well for Republicans. >

Never complain. Never explain. Works for the monarchy. >

Except for the "never complain" part. They're constantly complaining all the time, usually about complete nonsense. >

Santos was a small time grifter that all of a sudden got access to big money and campaign expertise.  That "all of a sudden part" bothers me.  Makes me feel like he's just a pawn being moved around by outside forces.  Forces that would rather see a republican majority and Christian rule in this country. >

I've been thinking about Obama's birth certificate, and how many people thought Obama was a foreign asset bred in Kenya for the sole purpose of overtaking America... And this was based on the color of his skin and little else. 
So people believed believe foreign powers would influence America in that round-about way, but don't seem to care about Santos finding a mountain of money, or even Trump having a bank account in China. >

They never really believed that Obama was a foreign asset. It’s just that they know that while you can’t use the n-word freely in public anymore, coded language can still help you feel all your ludicrous and hateful feelings while also easily identifying like-minded people. >

Barack HUSSEIN Obama >

I was taking a class on religion in college during the 08 election. The professor, who ironically was from Kenya, also taught political science. So, naturally, we had many discussions about the election. One day, he went around the room and let us voice our thoughts on the candidates. This one classmate of mine said he believed Obama was, “a dang terrorist.” That sounds just as absurd to me now as it did hearing it back then. I recall Fox News was circulating that idea, if not saying it outright and they kept saying his full name to drive that point home.
Oh, another classmate said the best thing for the McCain campaign would have been for the US to suffer another terrorist attack akin to 9/11. Because then people would be scared and vote for McCain and he would win… >

They aren't wrong about scaring people into conservatism.  The US might be a Reichstag Fire away from fascism right now. >

Well we already had an event akin to a failed beer hall putsch. >

Got a golf course putz all lined up >

And all of this constant corruption, although immoral, often seems to be completely legal in America. >

Well, legal, if you're rich or a rich person needs your vote for speaker. >

Every single elected member of government should have immediate, complete and transparent release of their finances. And they shouldn’t be able to trade off their portfolio. Automatically. >

We will never have a conscionable government under late stage capitalism. Greed is the cancer that will ultimately kill humanity if left untreated. >

Mother Nature is on it. >

Reminds me of how Kavanaugh mysteriously paid off huge debts right before going up for the Supreme Court. >

Remember when Alito said that CU wouldn't cause this sort of thing, and even made a disgusted face at the suggestion? Pepperidge Farm remembers. >

Uh oh...he broke campaign finance rules.  Now he's in trouble! (not)
I honestly cannot think of anyone who has run afoul of campaign finance rules actually getting in trouble. >

That's because the GOP refuses to staff FEC so they can't punish anyone. >

He is compromised, and probably a Russian agent.  The GOP would be dick-brained to give this guy access to any intelligence >

The way they go, he'll be in charge of DHS before years out. >

I figured Chair of the House UnIntelligence Committee. >

Dont be so hard on George.  He had it tough growing up - his father was a gay muslim alcoholic who beat George everyday until he found the Lord and converted the family to Judaism.  His great grandmother helped mother Theresa on her daily chores,  and his grand father fought at Omaha.     And his mother helped pen the code that made Apollo 11 mission a success. >

His grandmother also just died for the 15th time last week >

TIL there are still rules that govern political contributions. SCOTUS will have to get on that. >

You forgot the /s >

Smells like Russia.  Cheap spending to undermine democracy. >

I think you are spot on. It's a low price to take out the USA. >

And the US justice system will take 4-5 years to investigate him and ultimately not file charges. >

New York has no recall provisions for Congressman, and it takes a 2/3 majority for the House to kick out a member. >

Surely there are 70 republicans who....
Never mind, suggesting any of them have ethics is just too ridiculous. >

why would they want to kick him out?  he's going to do exactly what he is told otherwise there will be consequences for his actions. >


According to financial disclosures that he filed as a candidate, Mr. Santos claimed that he went from earning $55,000 to running a company worth more than a million dollars in just a few years. That ostensibly enabled him to lend his campaign more than $700,000 — slightly less than the amount that RedStone Strategies claimed to have raised.

They won't say it because they can't prove it but the implication is that RedStone is Santos.  He set up his own fake organization to do off the books "fundraising" so he could donate that money to the entity that is his campaign.
It's a fraud all the way down. >

NYT was talking about this in the Daily podcast. They tracked down friends, roommates, boyfriends, etc. and learned that up to just a few years ago Santos was frequently getting evicted from apartments and failing to pay back small personal loans from friends.
Suddenly in 2021 he runs a company that allowed him to give himself a $700K salary. And he will not admit who the company’s clients are or even what the company does. >

This must be why Republicans blocked the bill that allowed campaign donors to be known to the public >

He’s definitely a foreign asset. If he’s not currently already an asset, he’s the easiest blackmail asset for foreign interests in all of government. He’s compromised, he’s a criminal, and he belongs nowhere near a seat in the federal government. >

Why foreign? We're talking about relative peanuts here. Could just as easily be domestic. He'll it could even be a single person bankrolling it. >

I'm so fucking sick of these shitty people >

Ditto. Just shitty white collar criminals reminding everyone that there is no such thing as law and order any more. >

This guy is a poster child for the repeal of Citizens United.  He's totally funded by dark money. >

He’s a patsy that thought he was the smarter con man. The pack of wolves he got involved with are about to eat him alive . >

Man, I really hope so... He looks like the guy who's upset he didn't make employee of the month at the Men's Warehouse. >

It all worked out because the very next week he won the Nobel Prize so he's good >


Another potential area of concern about RedStone Strategies was the way it was described in its donor solicitation email as a 501c4 — a type of tax-exempt group organized for the promotion of social welfare. These entities pay no federal taxes and may engage in politics so long as their major purpose is not electing candidates to office. But while the donor email describes the group as a 501c4, it also pledges to dedicate “all its resources” to electing Mr. Santos — language that Mr. Ryan suggested was troubling.

They’re just…doing it right in front of us. And no one cares. >


And no one cares.

People need to stop saying this -  
People do care. Lots of us.
The problem is that the systems and processes and organizations that are supposed to do something about this... aren't.
Or the ones perpetrating these violations aren't afraid of the consequences, because they come too late (or never) or are a pittance compared to what they profit from the schemes.  
The whole notion of shame - being publicly outed and embarrassed - does not exist for the GOP anymore.  They are proud, damn proud of the things they get away with and even more so for the ones they're caught doing. It's a cancer within that party that goes to their core and likely won't ever be healed. >

This goes far beyond politics. People who constantly lie, cheat, steal, and systematically violate other established social norms used to be called psychopaths. They were ostracized from society, and either imprisoned or just straight up killed depending on what period of history you look at. Today, we all just kind of tolerate it, or even treat those traits with admiration if someone becomes successful using them. Just look at how people remember Steve Jobs. >

Does the law even fucking WORK AT ALL anymore? Fuck this guy. >

Boot
Him
Out ! >

Money questions aside for a moment, here’s possibly the worst part….’What don’t we know about Santos’ sordid past’? >

My money is it’s from Russia. Though it’s pretty surprising they even have any money left. >

Pshaw, 700k is peanuts. Not even a 10th or even 1% of the confiscated assets of an Oligarch that fell out of a window and landed on some bullets in the back of his head. Shiiiit, even the guy that was the head of Russias shipyards probably had that laying around before he “mysteriously” died. Pootie poot can lay his hands on a lot of cash still. Common Russians? Nope, they’re fucked. >

Look how easy it was for somebody to blatantly lie, get caught lying and then still win his election. What’s stopping a foreign agent from running on a totally fabricated platform if there is no accountability to the truth? Apparently the GOP cares about winning over truth. Otherwise this fraud would have been ousted day one >

Thank kind Redditor ! >

Gee, I fucking wonder. It's a goddamn Scooby Doo mystery. >

I think it was more underhanded stuff from lowlife Republicans and not Russia that funded this guy. I just don't see any known connection with Russia here. It looks like most of it is connected to that Ponzi scheme he was involved with and probably an attempt to grift by influence peddling. 
The real question is "who gave Santos the $700+k that he self-funded the campaign?" Dude couldn't pay his own rent. >

Yeah, it's sort of incredible that he's gone from being evicted to a multi-million biz owner. I know can happen in America, but it's usually not in a combo of a web of lies. >

all of a sudden?   
THIS IS THE THE SECOND TIME HE HAS RUN!!!!.
He ran in on the R ticket in 2020 against Suozzi.  
No one seems to be talking about this .  This is far from the begining of his story >

Unchecked money flowing to our politicians is a good thing 
-SCOTUS, actually >


The donor, who did not wish to be identified, confirmed that he was told by the Queens Republican operative that the $25,000 that he gave to RedStone in October would be used as part of a large ad buy for Mr. Santos.
But the donor said he did not hear anything back on how the funds were spent.

A fool and their money . . . . >

Repel Citizens United!!!