In an interview with CNN, indicted Rep. George Santos (R-NY) laid the blame for his charges at the feet of his former campaign treasurer, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to numerous campaign finance felonies connected to her work for Santos.
Santos is currently charged with 23 federal charges connected to his campaign, including conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements, falsification of records, aggravated identity theft, and credit card fraud. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
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But, in an interview with CNN, Santos said his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, bears the blame for what happened.
Marks pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge and implicated Santos in a scheme to embellish his campaign finance reports with fake donors and a fake loan.
“I never ever submitted or even looked at a single report,” Santos told CNN. “I’m a candidate. Candidates do not handle money. Candidates do not handle finances. Candidates do not handle filings. I don’t even know what the FEC filing system looks like.”
When pressed about his former campaign treasurer implicating him when she pleaded guilty, Santos dodged responsibility again.
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“People will say whatever they have to say, cut whatever deal they have to cut in order to save their hide. And I — this isn’t surprising,” he said.
Ultimately, he did say that the “buck should stop at the candidate.”
