'A Donald Trump mini-me': Analysis cites the distinct similarities between Trump and George Santos

13 May 2023

A new analysis is highlighting similarities between former President Donald Trump and Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.). In a new article published by The Bulwark, Paul Rosenzweig offered details about the current issues plaguing both Trump and Santos.

While Rosenzweig did acknowledge that the two Republicans are different, his writing highlighted what makes the two situations quite similar.

"Some of Santos’s alleged criminality is almost prosaic," Rosenzweig wrote. "Prosecutors allege that in June 2020, during the early months of the COVID pandemic, Santos sought unemployment benefits in New York, even though he was employed by a Florida investment firm (apparently, Harbor City Capital) earning a salary of $120,000 annually. If these facts are proven true, Santos is little more than a garden-variety crook trying to scam the federal government."

Rosenzweig went on to emphasize the dominant allegations Santos is facing which involve fraud and violations of election finance laws and the likelihood of him profiting from those unlawful activities.

"The more notable allegations involve Santos’ fundraising activities during his campaign for Congress," he wrote. "Santos is alleged to have personally profited from a fraud involving his solicitation of contributions to assist in his congressional campaign. Election finance law allows the creation of a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(4) of the tax laws for the purpose of making independent expenditures on behalf of a candidate."

While Trump has managed to circumvent allegations of him personally pocketing misappropriated funds, Rosenzweig notes things appear to be a bit different for Santos.

"Even though Santos and those who worked for him told the contributors that the money would pay for political ads to advance Santos’s campaign, Santos instead put the money in his own pocket and used it for his personal benefit," he noted. "The lies that Santos told by email and by text are at the heart of the criminal wire fraud charges against him."

While both have a history of spewing falsehoods, Rosenzweig noted, "There are differences in the two cases. Fund-raising solicitations are well-known for the proliferation of vague, unprovable, and overblown claims. It is no crime, for example, for Trump to say, 'elect me and I will cut taxes,' even if he knows he cannot achieve that goal. Whether or not Trump’s solicitations crossed the line from grandiose puffery to criminal fraud depends on the precise phrasing of the solicitations, how they were perceived by the victims who don't."

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