Santos campaign finances show dozens of expenses just below FEC's threshold to keep receipts

[RandySF]

Records that Rep.-elect George Santos’ campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission show 37 expenditures, on office supplies, hotels, ride-share app Uber, restaurants and more, for the exact same amount: $199.99.

Campaign finance experts say those expenditures the New York representative-elect reported stood out for a key reason: They are one penny below the dollar figure above which the FEC requires campaigns to keep receipts.

Those expenditures are among a number of oddities contained in the FEC reports of Santos, the Republican who won a seat in Congress in November and in recent days has faced scrutiny over a series of false claims about his family history, work history, education and more.

Santos’ FEC reports contain a number of unusual expenditures, including exorbitant expenses on air travel and hotels, particularly in Miami, and $10,900 in what are listed as rent payments to the company Cleaner 123. The company’s address is a house on Long Island, and The New York Times, which first published a story on Santos’ campaign finance filings, reported that a neighbor said Santos had been living there for months.

The expenditures, and particularly the $199.99 payments to Uber, Walgreens, Walmart, Best Buy, Delta Airlines, Il Bacco Restaurante and more, “definitely stood out to me,” said campaign finance expert Paul S. Ryan, the deputy executive director of the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation.



https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/30/politics/george-santos-campaign-finance/index.html

[maxsolomon]

1. 40K in air travel

rent for staffers at the house he was living in. it goes on and on.

[RandySF]

2. I didn't realize Long Island was so large.

[maxsolomon]

3. It's definitely long, at least!

>100 miles.

[keithbvadu2]

4. Amazing! What a coincidence.

[CurtEastPoint]

5. I don't believe that DL has any airfares for 199.99. Shitty liars.

[patphil]

6. I know the Republicans won't support it, but...

as soon as Democrats control both houses again, plus the President, thaere are more campaign laws that needs to be changed.
I suggest $25. as the threshold for keeping receipts. I realize this isn't for reimbursement, but for identifying where the money went.
We have to remember that campaign finance fraud is rampant, especially with the Republicans. They will lie about, hide, or obsfucate their campaign expenditures whenever there is a need.

I feel the same about campaign contributions. All contributions above $25 must be identified as to amount and source. If it's a pac or superpac, then all the contributors must be identified as to name and amount.
We need to reassert limits to campaign contributions, both for a single campaign, and total in any single election cycle.
We also need to tighten up the laws to prevent foreign contributions, both direct and indirect.
No more NRA taking Russian money and then laundering it into superpacs.

[halfulglas]

7. It shows knowledge of reason to keep listed expenses below a

Documentary level of proof. But none of the airline expenses should be expensed considering what his district encompasses.

[riversedge]

8. seems the folks who work for Santos are liars and tricksters also.

[Retrograde]

9. Birds of a Feather (n/t)

[Retrograde]

10. Did he skip the class on plausible grifting at Trump U?

$199.99 means "I'm making this up so you don't audit me". If he wanted to pad the expense accounts he or his staff should have used a variety of amounts. Payments of, say, $97.13 to Walgreens or $173.53 to Best Buy might seem plausible - having everything be the same just says I'm making all this up

And the payments to Delta - well, maybe I can see some travel to meet with donors or politicos out of state, but I'd expect that to be a much bigger expense.