Everything could have been so nice for George Santos: the 34-year-old is the first openly gay Republican candidate to take a seat from a Democrat in the House of Representatives election. That too in a district that has elected a Democrat in seven of the last eight presidential elections. But only shortly after the election did it emerge that Santos, who is part of the Trump camp, is perhaps not quite as serious as he would like his voters to believe. Because several leading US media, including the “New York Times” and “CNN”, recently reported inconsistencies in Santos’ résumé, who is supposed to take his place in the House of Representatives in Washington from January 2023. (Read more about this here)
Santos himself was initially represented by a lawyer, but commented on the allegations for the first time on Monday – and confirmed them. A degree in finance and economics from New York University and Baruch University? lied! “I never graduated from university. I’m very embarrassed and sorry for embellishing my resume,” he said in an interview with the New York Post. He wants to take responsibility for it, because after all, you do stupid things in life. CNN had previously reported that no enrollment by Santos was found at either university.
Stupid things seemed to abound in Santos’ resume, however, as Santos admitted to even more fakes. Because it is also not true that he was employed by the two large Wall Street investment houses Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He did not work “directly” for the two companies and “chosen the wrong words” in his CV. Instead, he worked at Link Bridge, whose partners include Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. “I’m not going to use that as an excuse, but a lot of people exaggerate it on their CVs and twist the truth a bit. I’m not saying I haven’t done the same,” Santos said in an interview with radio station “WABC radio”. .
But it is not only the fake CV that is pursuing Santos, but other statements made during the election campaign are now also outright lies. He explained that he owned a company with 13 properties. “George Santos doesn’t own any real estate,” he told the New York Post. The 34-year-old does not have his own apartment either, he currently lives with his sister in Huntington. Instead of owning his own property, Santos also admitted to rent arrears. A court has already ordered Santos to pay a former landlord $12,000 – but he has not yet paid it either.
It should come as no surprise that the family history presented by Santos is not entirely flawless. Santos had stated that his maternal grandparents, who were Ukrainian Jews fleeing the Nazis, lived in Belgium during World War II and then emigrated to Brazil. Because of this, Santos also described himself as “half-Jewish” or “Jewish Latino” during the election campaign. (Read more about this here)
Already last week, “CNN” reported, citing data from genealogists and the Holocaust Museum, that there was no evidence whatsoever for the story presented by Santos. Santos told the New York Post that while he was Catholic, his grandmother always told stories of being Jewish before she converted. “I never said I was Jewish. I’m Catholic,” Santos protested. “But when I found out that my maternal family has Jewish roots, I said I was a little bit Jewish.”
Santos, on the other hand, has no doubts that his lies have an impact on his political work. “My intention is to keep my promises to my voters. That’s what people voted for me for.” He is not a fraud and otherwise not a criminal. “I have not committed a crime here or anywhere else in the world,” said Santos, who intends to continue his mandate in the House of Representatives. This is contrasted with research by the “New York Times” that Santos was convicted of check fraud in Brazil. The newspaper relies on court documents in which Santos can be identified by his name, date of birth and the names of his parents. Santos made a confession and a verdict was also pronounced. However, the judgment could not have been enforced because Santos could no longer be found by the authorities.
Quellen: New York Post, CNN, New York Times
