George Santos has named a new treasurer for his campaign. But this person may be as mysterious as other aspects of the life story of the famed fabulist.
(Bloomberg) — George Santos has named a new treasurer for his campaign. But this person may be as mysterious as other aspects of the life story of the famed fabulist.
In response to a demand from the Federal Election Commission to designate a treasurer, the embattled New York Republican filed paperwork Monday tapping Andrew Olson. Olson happens to share the Elmhurst, New York, address that the congressman put for himself when he declared his candidacy.
The address corresponds to a 166-unit apartment building, though no apartment number was given for Olson. The form listed an email address, which only appears once in a Google search — on the FEC form naming Olson as treasurer. The phone number section was left blank.
Emails to Olson weren’t returned. Joe Murray, a lawyer for Santos, didn’t immediately respond to a request to comment.
- Read the FEC filing here
Knowingly filing a false or incomplete form to the FEC can trigger penalties. The FEC imposed nearly $3.3 million in fines in fiscal year 2022, figures show.
The lack of details about Olson raises questions of whether Santos is seeking to hide the identity of the person in charge of his campaign’s finances. No one by the name of Andrew Olson has ever before served as a campaign treasurer, FEC records show.
Santos is most famous for embellishing much of his resume. That’s prompted several investigations by federal and local authorities. So far, Santos has rejected calls from members of his own party to step down amid the scandals.
Confusion over the Santos campaign has been swirling for weeks. The FEC began questioning who was running Santos’s campaign finances after his previous treasurer Nancy Marks abruptly resigned last month. The campaign then filed a statement listing Thomas Datwyler, a Wisconsin-based compliance professional, as its current treasurer, though Datwyler’s attorney said he had turned down the job.
The campaign listed Olson in its year-end disclosure on Jan. 31, but hadn’t filed a formal statement with the FEC officially naming him as treasurer, which is required by law. That prompted the FEC earlier this month to send letters to Santos requesting that he designate a treasurer, or face a ban on raising and spending money.
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–With assistance from Bill Allison.
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