George Santos latest news: ‘Ex-partner’ says Santos only cared about fame and power, as FEC filings raise questions

Congressman George Santos sure looked like he was nearing the end of his rope on Thursday when an activist encountered him in the halls of Congress and asked him if he was following the current season of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Watch the fun moment unfold here:

George Santos has yet another headache coming his way, thanks to amended filings submitted to the FEC this week.

The embattled New York congressman was already facing calls for his resignation or ouster — from both parties — before his filings with the Federal Election Commission this week. Now, those filings are becoming the source of problem after problem, each with the potential to run afoul of the law.

The latest issue flagged by reporters with ABC News on Thursday stems from filings that several fundraising committees working on behalf of the Santos 2022 campaign made with the agency specifying a change in the individual assigned as treasurer for the committees. Those committees are now listed as having their financial operations overseen by Thomas Datwyler, a longtime specialist in political campaign finances.

But there’s just one problem: Mr Datwyler adamantly told ABC News that he is not working for the Santos campaign, and in fact had informed them of that before the FEC filings were submitted.

A Brazilian individual claiming to be Rep George Santos’ ex-boyfriend appeared on CNN and said that Mr Santos only ever cared about “fame and power” and that he expects him to continue to reject calls for his resignation.

Pedro Vilarva has previously said that he entered into a romantic relationship with Mr Santos in 2014 when he was just 18 years old and the future Congressman was 26 — and that their relationship was full of dishonesty on Mr Santos’ part.

Abe Asher has the full story:

Embattled GOP congressman George Santos claimed in August 2020 that Jeffrey Epstein “could still be alive” – one year after the paedophile killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell.

In a newly-resurfaced interview, Mr Santos – who has already been caught out over several lies about his past, background and family – claimed that he met Epstein a few times and pushed the conspiracy theory that he was “murdered” in prison.

Epstein was found dead in his cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex-trafficking children. His death was ruled suicide.

Mr Santos then backtracked over his death altogether, claiming he may actually still be alive.

“I wouldn’t put it past me that he’s still walking around us and we’re all like, ‘Oh my god, the guy is alive,’ and we can’t tell,” he said. “You know what, it’s 2020, anything can happen.”

Embattled GOP Rep George Santos has now come under scrutiny for claiming that he survived an unidentified assassination attempt.

The Republican, who has already admitted to making several lies during his run for Congress, made the wild allegation during an interview with Brazilian podcast “Rádio Novelo Apresenta” last month.

“We have already suffered an attempt on my life, an assassination attempt, a threatening letter, having to have the police – a police escort standing in front of our house,” he claimed.

Mr Santos did not elaborate on the alleged hit plot and is not thought to have mentioned it publicly prior to this. During the interview he also claimed he was mugged in on Fifth Avenue in New York City and that his Florida home was vandalized.

Read more from Gustaf Kilander:

George Santos filed an amended financial disclosure form with the FEC on Tuesday, and within minutes reporters and electoral law experts were noticing some pretty glaring issues. For starters, there’s two loans — for $500,000 and $125,000 — that are no longer identified as coming from Mr Santos’s personal funds, as they had been previously.

And then there’s the oddly high number of donations just under the $200 limit – an occurrence that immediately raised questions about their legitimacy.

It seems like the New York congressman has another set of questions to answer as the saga of his arrival in Washington continues.

George Santos delivered a speech on the House floor on Wednesday, his first as a member of Congress.

Instead of addressing the myriad of scandals enveloping him on a near-daily basis, the New York Republican instead spoke in favor of a resolution condemning the actions of Iran’s government in the face of widespread protests.

George Santos’s colleagues in the House could end up being the final arbiters of judgment for the scandal-ridden New York Republican.

Despite wave after wave of revelations surrounding his past and present fictions and lies, the embattled congressman has remained adamant that he will remain in office. Even in the face of members of his own party calling for his ouster, Mr Santos has stood firm.

But none of that may matter if the machinations of the US House of Representatives conspire against him.

The Independent‘s John Bowden has more:

“I have now been enshrined in late night TV history with all these impersonations, but they are all TERRIBLE so far. Jon Lovitz is supposed to be one of the greatest comedians of all time and that was embarrassing – for him not me! These comedians need to step their game up,” Mr Santos tweeted on Monday night.

“Finally!!! You’re honest about something!!!” Mr Lovitz responded on Twitter.

See the rest of their exchange in The Independent:

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy dressed down a reporter in the US Capitol during a press conference on Tuesday after the reporter questioned him over why he wasn’t doing more to punish George Santos for repeatedly lying to voters and the media.

CNN’s Manu Raju began the exchange on Tuesday by questioning Mr McCarthy over whether his resistance to calling for Mr Santos to resign, a step several of his GOP colleagues have taken, was due to his desire to protect a single-digit Republican majority in the chamber .

Then, a second reporter jumped in, asking why Mr McCarthy was not calling for Mr Santos to be stripped of committee memberships.

Watch Mr. McCarthy’s response here: