Lafazan demands George Santos release his tax returns

Josh Lafazan is not easing up on Rep. George Santos, and is now calling on him to release his tax returns.

At a news conference in Bethpage on Jan. 26, Lafazan and others called on Santos to release the last four years of his tax returns. Lafazan, in the County Legislature, has overlap in constituents with Santos, and feels obligated to call out Santos on behalf of those constituents. 

"He doesn't get to gaslight the constituents that I represent," Lafazan said. "If you claim you're not a liar, let's see the tax returns and prove it. Prove you embellished instead of lying."

This comes after the revelation, made by Santos himself, that the six figure donation to his campaign in 2022 was not a self-loan. 

"This is a guy who reported making $55,000 in 2020," Lafazan said. "And now in 2022, loans, his campaign $700,000. George Santos yesterday, admitted that it was not a personal loan. So who does George Santos owe money to? And where did that money come from?"

According to Lafazan, tax returns could be the "smoking gun" on what Santos could be hiding, including potentially a foreign source of income.

For his part, Santos has responded to the controversy surrounding his finances. 

"Sir, let's make it very clear: I don't amend anything, I don't touch any of my FEC stuff, right?" Santos told a reporter on Capitol Hill. "So don't be disingenuous and report that I did, because you know that every campaign hires fiduciaries."