Republican congressman calls on Santos' campaign funds to be frozen

Fellow Republican Rep. Nick LaLota is calling for New York Rep. George Santos' campaign funds to be frozen so the money could possibly be returned to donors.

News 12 Staff

Jan 16, 2023, 10:41 PM

Updated 629 days ago

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Fellow Republican Rep. Nick LaLota is calling for New York Rep. George Santos' campaign funds to be frozen so the money could possibly be returned to donors.
According to Rep. LaLota, those funds should be immediately frozen because they were earned on the basis of lies. However, there might not be much money left to give back to donors.
Sherry Rubin, from East Norwich, did not vote for George Santos and didn't donate to his campaign, but she thinks many of his donors might be feeling cheated after the congressman admitted to lying about his credentials on the campaign trail.
That's why Rep. Nick LaLota is now calling for Santos' campaign funds to be frozen by the Justice Department or the Federal Election Commission.
The Republican wrote in a statement, "Rep. Santos fraudulently solicited these funds and Santos shouldn't be allowed to drain his campaign account while multiple authorities investigate the very fraud that induced these contributions."
Once Santos receives his due process, LaLota says those funds should be returned to the donors.
However, Campaign Finance Attorney Aaron Foldenauer says most of Santos' campaign cash was likely already spent.
On Dec. 31, Santos had just under $50,000 on hand according to the FEC. That means there might not be much left to give back to donors.
Rep. LaLota says he'd be willing to take the lead to give the Justice Department and the FEC authority to freeze Santos' campaign accounts. He's also renewing his call for Santos to resign.
News 12 reached out to Santos' office for a comment but have yet to hear back.