George Santos admits he didn't file financial disclosure; says he has 'grace period'

WASHINGTON — Rep. George Santos admitted Friday he has not filed a financial disclosure report that was due on Sunday, but he asserted he had a “30-day grace period’ to file — which actually is the amount of time before he would face a fine.

In an appearance on the Fox 5 New York show “Good Day New York,” co-host Rosanna Scotto asked Santos (R-Nassau-Queens) why he refused to file the legally required report after getting a 90-day extension from the May 15 deadline to Aug. 13.

“I didn't refuse,” Santos said. “So, I still have a 30-day grace period according to House rules.”

“So, it's not it's not over?” Scotto asked.

“No, it's not over,” Santos said. “So, once your deadline comes, you still have a 30-day grace period, which we will be filing within that grace period.”

Brett Kappel, a campaign finance and ethics attorney, called it, “charitable to call it a ‘grace period.’ In reality, he isn’t subject to a fine until 30 days after he fails to file.”

The House Ethics Committee, which oversees financial disclosures reports required by the Ethics in Government Act passed in 1978, states on its website: “An individual who files a report more than 30 days after it is due must pay a late filing fee of $200.”

And the financial disclosure statute adds: “Please note that while a late filing fee will not be assessed until the 31st day after the original due date or extension deadline, the report is still considered late.”

Santos already faces two charges of making false statements on the financial disclosure reports he filed in 2020 and 2022 in the 13-count indictment that federal prosecutors filed in May. Each violation carries up to a five-year sentence and fines.

Federal prosecutors and ethics committee investigators will scrutinize the financial disclosure he does submit — if he actually files.

“He’s somewhat between a rock and a hard place,” said Stanley Brand, an attorney specializing in ethics and campaign finance law and a former general counsel to the U.S. House.

“He can file and hope they are accurate,” Brand said.

Or he could choose not to file, Brand said, “and rely on [a] defense that given the indictment he’s not in a position to file.”

But Brand noted that failure to file could subject Santos to at least civil enforcement penalties.