Santos’ Latest Lie: ‘I Have Lived an Honest Life’
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Habitual liar George Santos wants everyone to know that despite having fudged his resume, real estate portfolio, religious background, education, and athletic career, he has “lived a very honest life.”
The freshly sworn in Long Island representative has spent his first days in Congress dodging questions about calls for his resignation, but he appeared on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast on Thursday, with guest host Rep. Matt Gatez (R-Fla.) questioning him about the origin of more than $700,000 in campaign loans Santos gave himself.
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George Santos says he has "lived an honest life" in the same breath as a refusal to answer questions about where the money he used to give himself more than 700k in campaign loans came from. pic.twitter.com/AU1fSqLvSK
— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) January 12, 2023
“I’ll tell you where it didn’t come from,” Santos replied. “It didn’t come from China, Ukraine, or Burisma.”
“Well, that is an answer,” Gaetz replied.
“I’ve worked my entire life, I’ve lived an honest life,” Santos continued. “I’ve never been accused of any sort of bad doing.”
George Santos has been accused of some sort of “bad doing.” Many times over in fact.
A December investigation by The New York Times, revealed that Santos had lied about having worked at prestigious financial firms including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, as well as having attended Baruch College in New York and New York University. It was revealed on Wednesday that Santos even claimed to have led a championship volleyball team during his fictional enrollment at the former school. Subsequent reports revealed that Santos had falsely claimed to be the descendant of Holocaust survivors, and even went so far as to describe himself as a “proud American Jew” in campaign documents. Santos later admitted to having exaggerated his resume.
The lies range from petty to potentially unlawful. Santos is now facing a myriad of investigations regarding allegations that he lied about the majority of his background and resume and misled voters regarding his qualifications for office. The investigations include potential criminal probes by Nassau County prosecutors, and a federal inquiry by the Eastern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney. House Democrats have also filed an ethics complaint against Santos. A watchdog group, the Campaign Legal Center, also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Santos may have violated campaign finance laws.
Santos has spent his first days in Congress running from reporters asking questions about calls for his resignation. On Wednesday, the Nassau County Republican Committee called for Santos to step down, calling his actions disgraceful and barring him from meetings and events. New York GOP Chair Nick Langworthy echoes the sentiment, calling for Santos’ resignation in a statement on Wednesday.
Santos has remained steadfast in his assertion that he will serve out his full term. In a slip of the tongue he told reporters that he would resign if “142 people” asked him to, later clarifying he meant the 142,000 people who elected him into office. “I was elected by 142,000 people,” Santos told Gaetz when asked about calls for his resignation. “Until those same 142,000 people tell me they don’t want me, we’ll find out in two years.”
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