New York Congressman-Elect George Santos Confesses to Embellishing His Resume

Representative-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, 2022. Wade Vandervort/AFP via Getty Images

George Santos, the Republican Congressman-elect representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District, admitted that he had lied about his education and work history during his campaign.

In two interviews, published on Dec. 26 by the New York Post and New York-based radio station WABC, Santos said he still plans to take his congressional seat in January and fulfill his campaign compromises despite what he called “resume embellishments.”

“I’m not a criminal. Not here, not abroad, in any jurisdiction in the world have I ever committed any crimes,” Santos told WABC.

“To get down to the nit and gritty, I’m not a fraud,” he continued. “I’m not a criminal who defrauded the entire country and made up this fictional character and ran for Congress. I’ve been around a long time. I mean, a lot of people know me. They know who I am. They’ve done business dealings with me.”

“I’m not going to make excuses for this, but a lot of people overstate in their resumes, or twist a little bit,” Santos continued. “I’m not saying I’m not guilty of that. I’m just saying, I’ve done so much good work in my career.”

Santos’s biography came under scrutiny after a Dec. 19 report from The New York Times disputed several of his claims, including his alleged past employment at CitiGroup and Goldman Sachs and his attendance at Baruch College.

The logo for Goldman Sachs on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on Nov. 17, 2021. Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Claims

Santos confessed to the New York Post that he had “never worked directly” for the two Wall Street firms, attributing the impression he had worked there to a “poor choice of words.”

Instead, Santos now claims he worked for a company called Link Bridge, which did business with both financial firms, according to the New York Post. His job there was to help make “capital introductions” between clients and investors, he told the outlet.

“I will be clearer about that. It was stated poorly,” Santos said about his past employment.

Santos also admitted that he never graduated from Baruch College, or any college.

“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he told the New York Post. “I own up to that. … We do stupid things in life.”

According to the New York Post, Santos also admitted to lying about owning 13 different properties.

“George Santos does not own any properties,” he said, adding that he is living with his sister but looking to buy his own place.

Despite having deceived voters with fabricated claims, Santos said he will be a good congressman, adding that he will be “effective” and will have “good legislative success.”

The soon-to-be congressman told WABC that he will fulfill his campaign promises.

“I want to make sure that if I disappointed anyone by resume embellishments, I’m sorry,” he told the radio station. “And I will deliver to you on everything I campaigned on because it’s still the same guy, still the same message, still the same priorities.”

Following his midterm win over Democrat candidate Robert Zimmerman, Santos took to Twitter to announce what he plans to do in Congress.

“I am ready to take crime, energy independence, and inflation SERIOUSLY! Let’s bring relief and solutions back to #NY03!” he wrote on Nov. 18. “Without [Nancy] Pelosi’s destructive agenda America will once again be on track.”

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Following the first drop of the “Twitter Files”—which exposed Twitter’s efforts to suppress the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election—Santos called for an investigation.

“Last night, we learned about Twitter’s collusion with the Biden campaign to censor speech & bury the truth about the Hunter Biden laptop,” Santos wrote on Dec. 3. “In Congress, I am committed to delivering accountability. We must investigate those responsible & leave no stone unturned.”

Democrats

Several Democrats have since slammed Santos over his lies, with some calling for his resignation.

“GOP Congressman-elect George Santos, who has now admitted his whopping lies, should resign. If he does not, then @GOPLeader should call for a vote to expel @Santos4Congress,” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) wrote on Twitter.

“George Santos should resign as Congressman-elect. If he refuses, Congress should expel him. He should also be investigated by authorities,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) wrote on Twitter. “We’ve seen people fudge their resume but this is total fabrication.”

Castro added, “If he’s allowed to serve there will be more who seek office up and down the ballot who will believe that they can completely fabricate credentials, personal features and accomplishments to win office.”

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• 23 House Seats Flipped During 2022 Midterm Elections

Santos was one of the Republicans who flipped a congressional seat in New York. The current lawmaker from the state’s 3rd Congressional District, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), did not seek reelection to the House but ran instead for governor of New York. Suozzi lost to incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Democrat primary in June.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) also called for Santos not to be sworn into the new Congress.

“RT if he should be banned from taking the oath for Congress,” Swalwell wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who won reelection in November representing the state’s 15th Congressional District, said the House Ethics Committee should investigate Santos.

“His pitiful confession should not distract us from concerns about possible criminality and corruption,” Torres wrote on Twitter. “The Ethics Committee MUST investigate how he made his money. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”