Representative George Santos, RN.Y. admitted to being a “terrible liar” in an interview this week, while also continuing to push dubious claims about his mother being in the Twin Towers on 9/11 and his “Jewish-ishness.” Linage.
Host Piers Morgan asked Santos how the congressman thought he could get away with so many Fabricated material on his resume, which claimed he graduated from a college he never attended. Santos said he didn’t think he would ever know because “I ran for Congress in 2020 for the same exact seat, and I got away with it.”
The 40-minute discussion with Morgan aired on YouTube on Monday. Questions about Santos’ biography have swirled since a New York Times investigation last year showed that much of his background in his life story published last month appears to be fabricated, including claims that he had There were several properties that had previously been employed by Goldman Sachs. and attended and graduated from Citigroup and Baruch College.
Santos told Morgan, “I’ve been a terrible liar.” But, he added, “It was not about tricking people. It was about being accepted by the party at the local level.” He later sought to lay the blame on obscure issues in local politics, saying, “It stems more deeply in the political system and political culture of New York State. And it would take a lot more time than this program to explain.” “
The Times’ report also raised questions about how he was able to loan hundreds of thousands of dollars to his congressional campaign, and subsequent reporting further criticized his claims of Jewish heritage and his mother’s death as being tied to 9/11. Additional questions have been raised about
Santos told Morgan that he never claimed to be Jewish, and that he claimed to be “Jewish-ish” as a “party favor”.
“It was always a joke. Everyone laughed at it. I said it in November in a room with 1000 people, people were laughing hysterically. It was funny to them. They loved it,” he said , referring to a speech he gave to the Republican Jewish Coalition. In his remarks broadcast on C-SPAN, Santos said that his election meant that “there will now be three” Jewish Republican members of Congress, a comment that was greeted with applause, not laughs.
“I don’t think Jewish people find it strange,” Morgan retorted.
Santos also made other references to Judaism in his 2022 congressional campaign, including distributing a position paper claiming to be “a proud American Jew”.
Genealogical records dispute claims that Santos has Jewish heritage and that his grandparents fled the Holocaust, but Santos insists that these records are incorrect.
“It’s one I’ll fight to my grave, to the point that I’ve already ordered those DNA test kits and I’ve got four of them so far, and I’m just waiting for them to come back,” Santos said.
Regarding his claim that his mother, who died in 2016, was present at the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks, Santos said, “It’s true.”
Morgan said immigration records show she was not even in the country at the time of the attack and there is no record of her having worked in the buildings. Santos said, “She was not one to mislead me.” “I’m convinced it’s true.”
Asked about a recent claim by a Brazilian TV network that he was the victim of an assassination attempt, Santos said, “It was not an assassination attempt. It was a death threat. This Portuguese-to-English language is poorly translated.
He was also asked about a homeless veteran who said Santos raised money with GoFundMe for his dog’s operation, only to disappear with the cash. Santos denied that he was responsible, saying that he did not manage his many GoFundMe pages.
“I’m not ruling out if there’s a GoFundMe page and I’m not ruling out if they’re going to present me with one but I’ve never met them. I’ve never taken up the matter and I Never took money from my dog,” he said.
The FBI is probing the alleged GoFundMe scheme as well as Santos’ campaign finances. Santos is also being investigated by the Nassau County district attorney’s office and the state attorney general’s office has said it is “looking into a number of issues” involving Congress.
In the Morgan interview, Santos said that lying about having received a college education was “one of my biggest regrets in life.”
When asked if he thought he wouldn’t get caught, Santos replied, “If you’re going to lie, are you thinking at all? I think it was a stupid decision on my part, Very stupid decision that I regret everyday.”
