Rep. George Santos splurged on $365K in phantom campaign spending: report

Rep. George Santos reportedly spent more than $365,000 on campaign expenses for which he failed to give any details at all.

The controversial Long Island lawmaker reported spending the money during his winning 2022 congressional campaign but did not say whom the campaign paid or what it was for.

The phantom spending amounted to 12% of his total spending, about six times the amount of unitemized spending by any other New York lawmaker, The New York Times reported Monday.

The campaign finance report came after another damaging report on Friday said Santos allegedly left a trail of bad checks when he ran an unregistered animal charity before running for political office.

A Pennsylvania dog breeder told the Washington Post the Santos paid for four golden retriever puppies in 2017 with a check that later bounced.

Santos has also been accused of scamming a homeless veteran out of $3,000 in donations earmarked for his dying companion dog.

Santos, 34, says he should be forgiven for lying about his background, education and work history.

The campaign finance discrepancies are most likely to lead to criminal or ethics charges against Santos, who is being probed by state and federal officials, as well as prosecutors in his homeland of Brazil.

He has given various less-than-plausible explanations for six-figure loans that helped fund his upset victory in a Democratic-leading district in the midterm elections.

Critics on both sides of the aisle have demanded he resign, but Santos has kept the backing of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who could likely block any push to expel him.