Santos Campaign Pays No Legal Adviser Despite Court Challenges

Representative George Santos’s House campaign has no paid legal adviser as he faces court battles and a potentially contentious re-election bid.

The New York Republican’s campaign has not paid any law firm for legal services or consulting so far this year, Federal Election Commission filings show. The campaign committee had stopped paying law firm Dickinson Wright in 2022.

Joe Murray, Santos’ criminal defense attorney and spokesman, and Dickinson Wright did not respond to requests for comment.

Santos faces a 13-count indictment that includes charges of money laundering and wire fraud. The 35-year-old lawmaker faces as many as 20 years in prison if convicted. Santos has denied the allegations.

A Montana man, Scott C. Smith, also filed a lawsuit against Santos this month. Smith claims his free-speech rights are being violated after he was blocked from posting comments on Santos’ official Twitter account.

Dickinson Wright is one of Washington’s most prominent Republican-favored law firms. House Republicans paying for the firm’s legal services include Florida Representative Byron Donalds and Representative John James of Michigan, according to FEC filings.

The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee has worked with Dickinson Wright since 2019. Santos’s campaign paid the Michigan-founded firm $30,500 last election cycle, according to FEC filings. Its last payment was in December 2022.