Politics

George Santos accuses lesbian lawmaker of being corrupt. It did not go as planned.

"Oh so since you're about to be expelled from Congress, you're suddenly the morality police?"
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Rep. George Santos
Rep. George Santos Photo: Shutterstock

Things aren’t looking good for out Rep. George Santos (R-NY) now that the House Ethics Committee released its damning report about the “substantial evidence” that he used campaign funds for personal purchases, including Botox and OnlyFans subscriptions. He has said that he won’t seek reelection next year and Republicans are moving to expel him from Congress, but he still insists that he’s innocent of all wrongdoing.

Most people would keep their mouths shut about corruption while under such intense scrutiny due to multiple alleged schemes to enrich himself, but Santos is not most people. This past Saturday, he lashed out at lesbian Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) – who he may still be mad at for being one of three House Democrats to try to expel him this past May – saying that she benefited from “stolen money from defrauded investors” and “should be expelled immediately” from Congress.

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“It’s funny when you try and take the moral high ground.”

“[Rep. Becca Balint] doesn’t belong in congress,” Santos wrote on X. “She won her race with stolen money from defrauded investors from #FTX she should be expelled immediately and be forced to pay restitution to the victims of FTX.”

Santos linked an article about FTX Trading Ltd. executive Nishad Singh, who donated $1 million to a PAC that then spent that money to run ads for Balint in her Democratic primary in 2022. FTX is a now-bankrupt company that ran a cryptocurrency exchange and a crypto hedge fund that has been accused of fraudulent practices. Founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy earlier this month in federal court and is scheduled for sentencing and a second trial on five more counts of bank fraud and bribery next year.

The influx of out-of-state cash may have helped tip the primary in Balint’s favor, but there is no evidence that Balint coordinated with the PAC or had any control over the funds or how they were spent.

“​​The Congresswoman does not know any of the people mentioned in this exchange, has never communicated with them, and did not solicit any donations,” Balint campaign manager Natalie Silver told VTDigger.

Balint’s campaign also received a $2,900 donation from Bankman-Fried that it turned over to the U.S. Marshall’s Office in April when the Department of Justice asked.

The PAC, Victory Fund, says that it does not take directions from donors about how to spend money.

“We are proud to have earned the support of a diverse group of donors, and we make decisions about which candidates to support independently,” Victory Fund’s Elliot Imse said.

On X, people accused Santos of lashing out at Balint to draw attention away from the many allegations against him. Santos himself has also been accused of benefiting from FTX’s dark money contributions and FTX executives donated to his campaign.

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