New group backing DeSantis has a George Santos connection

A veteran political operative who played a mysterious role in the George Santos scandal now appears to be leading a newly formed super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis in Iowa.

The new super PAC, formed amid turmoil in the network of outside organizations supporting Mr. DeSantis’ presidential campaign, names Thomas Datwyler as treasurer. Mr. Datwyler was also briefly listed as treasurer of Mr. Santos’ campaign after the Republican congressman first came under scrutiny for his widespread fabrications.

On Monday, the super PAC Renewing Our Nation spent more than $283,000 sending pro-DeSantis mailers across Iowa, a federal campaign finance filing shows. The contents of the mailers were not immediately clear. Neither was this the source of the group’s funding nor the reason for its involvement in the presidential race. The group does not have to file detailed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission until Jan. 31.

In addition to the connection to Mr. Santos, Mr. Datwyler’s resume adds another layer of curiosity: He is listed as an executive in the compliance department of the sprawling political firm owned by Jeff Roe, who until last weekend was its chief strategist for Never Back Down, the main super PAC supporting Mr. Desantis’ campaign.

Mr. Roe, who resigned from Never Back Down on Saturday, did not immediately comment Monday.

Another oddity was that the person listed as manager of Renewing Our Nation’s sole supplier, like Mr. Santos, was unable to complete his term in Congress.

That person, former Rep. Trey Radel of Florida, runs Cross Step Media, a Florida-based company that sent the pro-DeSantis mailers in Iowa, according to the filing.

Mr. Radel, a Republican, was elected in 2012 to represent the state’s 19th Congressional District but served only one year: He resigned under pressure in early 2014 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession. (He had bought 3.5 grams from an undercover police officer. His criminal record was deleted after a year’s probation.)

Renewing Our Nation has not yet reported any other expenses besides the mailings.

Mr. Datwyler and Mr. Radel did not respond to requests for comment. So did Never Back Down and Mr. DeSantis’ campaign.

Now that Mr. DeSantis’ campaign has failed, the outside groups supporting him have become a frequent source of distraction. Never Back Down and the DeSantis campaign have at times worked at cross purposes, airing their differences through public memos, a tricky dance necessitated by a ban on coordination between campaigns and super PACs. (Never Back Down and the DeSantis campaign were accused Monday by a nonprofit watchdog group of violating that ban.)

Tensions between the two parties have become so extreme that three of DeSantis’ allies last month started their own super PAC, Fight Right, to air negative television ads in Iowa about Mr. DeSantis’ biggest rival, former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina.

Now, Renewing Our Nation has entered the political arena as the third super PAC to back Mr. DeSantis’ presidential bid. The group was formed on Nov. 20, campaign finance filings show. The address is listed as a PO Box in Wisconsin. Little other information was available about the group from FEC files.

It is not unheard of for major political donors to route their contributions through newly formed entities to create separation from existing groups.

Mr. Datwyler played a brief but bizarre supporting role in the saga of Mr. Santos, the former New York congressman. After Mr. Santos’ original treasurer resigned in January amid revelations of irregularities in Mr. Santos’ files, Mr. Datwyler was briefly listed as his treasurer in the files.

The arrangement made headlines when Mr. Datwyler’s lawyer sent a letter to the FEC accusing Mr. Santos of including him in the role without his consent. Mr Datwyler “would not take over as treasurer,” wrote the lawyer, Derek Ross, adding that there appeared to be “some disconnect”.

Then followed a dizzying series of events in which Mr. Santos put a new, previously unknown treasurer on the ballot, leading to speculation that this person might not be real, but another alter ego of the congressman.

Mr. Santos has denied such claims and has argued that Mr. Datwyler devised a scheme to monitor Santos’ campaign files, using an associate’s name, rather than his own, to avoid being identified associated with the controversial congressman. .

Reporting by The Daily Beast backed Mr. Santos’ story, leading to a remarkable turnaround: Mr. Datwyler’s own lawyer, Mr. Ross, wrote to the FEC to to withdraw his earlier letter.

“Unfortunately, recent public reporting has caused me to lose confidence in the accuracy and veracity of the information provided by Mr. Datwyler,” Mr. Ross wrote.

Maggie Haberman reporting contributed.