Who was Santos' campaign treasurer in January? Lawyer changes his statement
Rep. George Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) walks back to his office after defending himself during an expulsion debate on the House floor on Wednesday. Credit: The Washington Post/Jabin Botsford
The tangled campaign finances of indicted Rep. George Santos have taken another turn, with a lawyer now saying he made false statements in January about who was handling Santos’ books because he was given misleading information.
Back in January, Santos (R-Nassau/Queens), told Newsday and other news outlets that Nancy Marks was no longer his campaign treasurer. The replacement, according to Santos, was Thomas Datwyler, a Wisconsin-based consultant involved with many GOP campaigns — including those of Reps. Anthony D’Esposito and Nick LaLota and other first-term Republican House members from New York.
Datwyler’s lawyer, Derek Ross, at the time said Datwyler wasn’t working for Santos and attributed Santos' assertion to miscommunication.
That all changed just days ago, when Ross sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission essentially saying he was duped and that he was withdrawing his January statement because he couldn’t vouch for its veracity.
Ross cited new reporting — just after the Daily Beast ran an extensive story saying Datwyler apparently did the work for Santos for months but hid the fact.
“Regrettably, recent public reporting has caused me to lose confidence in the accuracy and veracity of the information provided by Mr. Datwyler at the time I submitted those communications on his behalf,” Ross wrote to the FEC. “After careful review of the new information and a reevaluation of the facts, it has become evident that the content of the original communications may no longer accurately represent the situation described in my correspondence.”
Later in the letter, Ross said: “I am currently evaluating my ethical obligations in regard to future representation of Mr. Datwyler.”
On Thursday, Santos told Newsday that Datwyler and he had agreed on the new role, but Datwyler publicly disavowed the arrangement after getting heat from other clients.
"He got public scrutiny and he got pushback ... .," Santos said. He said Datwyler told him Andrew Olson — identified in news media reports as a longtime friend — would do the job. Despite that assertion, Santos said he wound up dealing with Datwyler on campaign finance matters even though Olson's name was included on all emails.
Santos said he was "trying to navigate being a new member" and the treasurer post was "not something I was focusing on at all." Eventually, he said he parted ways with the pair and hired a new treasurer "because I just didn't feel comfortable with the setup anymore."
Santos faces a 23-count indictment alleging he filed fraudulent fundraising reports to obtain financial support for his campaign, stole from political donors, lied on his congressional financial disclosure forms and fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits authorized through COVID-19 programs. He has pleaded not guilty.
He has been exposed for making false claims about his education and work history, about his relatives surviving the Holocaust, about being Jewish and about his mother dying in the 9/11 attacks, among other things.
Further, Marks, Santos’ original campaign treasurer, recently pleaded guilty to filing false information with the FEC and the Republican National Committee about Santos’ fundraising. Santos has blamed Marks for questions about his filings.
Datwyler couldn’t be reached immediately for comment. He has worked extensively with numerous Republican candidates and, records show, is the treasurer for D’Esposito (R-Island Park), LaLota (R-Amityville) and a campaign account called New York Majority Makers, a committee that it says helps other freshman Republicans in the state, as first reported by Politico.
LaLota, asked by CNN about his ties to Datwyler and Ross’ claims to the FEC, said Datwyler provides campaign services for about “100 different” members of Congress and added: “I’m going to hold out on commenting on that until I can confirm the information myself.”
D’Esposito didn’t immediately comment.
D’Esposito and LaLota spearheaded a push to expel Santos from the House of Representatives, but the vote on Wednesday fell short. LaLota told CNN he thinks some members might change their minds once the House Ethics Committee finishes and reports its investigation into Santos, expected in about two weeks.
With Laura Figueroa Hernandez
The tangled campaign finances of indicted Rep. George Santos have taken another turn, with a lawyer now saying he made false statements in January about who was handling Santos’ books because he was given misleading information.
Back in January, Santos (R-Nassau/Queens), told Newsday and other news outlets that Nancy Marks was no longer his campaign treasurer. The replacement, according to Santos, was Thomas Datwyler, a Wisconsin-based consultant involved with many GOP campaigns — including those of Reps. Anthony D’Esposito and Nick LaLota and other first-term Republican House members from New York.
Datwyler’s lawyer, Derek Ross, at the time said Datwyler wasn’t working for Santos and attributed Santos' assertion to miscommunication.
That all changed just days ago, when Ross sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission essentially saying he was duped and that he was withdrawing his January statement because he couldn’t vouch for its veracity.
Ross cited new reporting — just after the Daily Beast ran an extensive story saying Datwyler apparently did the work for Santos for months but hid the fact.
“Regrettably, recent public reporting has caused me to lose confidence in the accuracy and veracity of the information provided by Mr. Datwyler at the time I submitted those communications on his behalf,” Ross wrote to the FEC. “After careful review of the new information and a reevaluation of the facts, it has become evident that the content of the original communications may no longer accurately represent the situation described in my correspondence.”
Later in the letter, Ross said: “I am currently evaluating my ethical obligations in regard to future representation of Mr. Datwyler.”
On Thursday, Santos told Newsday that Datwyler and he had agreed on the new role, but Datwyler publicly disavowed the arrangement after getting heat from other clients.
"He got public scrutiny and he got pushback ... .," Santos said. He said Datwyler told him Andrew Olson — identified in news media reports as a longtime friend — would do the job. Despite that assertion, Santos said he wound up dealing with Datwyler on campaign finance matters even though Olson's name was included on all emails.
Santos said he was "trying to navigate being a new member" and the treasurer post was "not something I was focusing on at all." Eventually, he said he parted ways with the pair and hired a new treasurer "because I just didn't feel comfortable with the setup anymore."
Santos faces a 23-count indictment alleging he filed fraudulent fundraising reports to obtain financial support for his campaign, stole from political donors, lied on his congressional financial disclosure forms and fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits authorized through COVID-19 programs. He has pleaded not guilty.
He has been exposed for making false claims about his education and work history, about his relatives surviving the Holocaust, about being Jewish and about his mother dying in the 9/11 attacks, among other things.
Further, Marks, Santos’ original campaign treasurer, recently pleaded guilty to filing false information with the FEC and the Republican National Committee about Santos’ fundraising. Santos has blamed Marks for questions about his filings.
Datwyler couldn’t be reached immediately for comment. He has worked extensively with numerous Republican candidates and, records show, is the treasurer for D’Esposito (R-Island Park), LaLota (R-Amityville) and a campaign account called New York Majority Makers, a committee that it says helps other freshman Republicans in the state, as first reported by Politico.
LaLota, asked by CNN about his ties to Datwyler and Ross’ claims to the FEC, said Datwyler provides campaign services for about “100 different” members of Congress and added: “I’m going to hold out on commenting on that until I can confirm the information myself.”
D’Esposito didn’t immediately comment.
D’Esposito and LaLota spearheaded a push to expel Santos from the House of Representatives, but the vote on Wednesday fell short. LaLota told CNN he thinks some members might change their minds once the House Ethics Committee finishes and reports its investigation into Santos, expected in about two weeks.
With Laura Figueroa Hernandez
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