Area prosecutors have recently elected to open a criminal investigation into U.S. Rep-elect George Santos (R-NY) in the wake of his being accused of, and then admitting to, falsifying a number of claims in regard to his background.
This past Monday while taking part in an interview with the New York Post, Santos fully admitted that he lied about the claim that he had worked for financial titans Goldman Sachs and Citigroup; he also admitted that he did not actually graduate from college. Going even further, Santos openly admitted that he fudged a few of the details of his personal life, his sexuality, and his religion. Despite all of this, however, he expressed that these controversies would not keep him from carrying out his duties.
“I am not a criminal,” exclaimed Santos. “This will not deter me from having good legislative success. I will be effective. I will be good.”
This past Wednesday, groups of prosecutors from Long Island stated that they opened an investigation about Santos in the wake of the scandal, which was first reported late lat week by The New York Times.
“The numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated with Congressman-Elect Santos are nothing short of stunning,” expressed Anne T. Donnelly, the Nassau County District Attorney.
“The residents of Nassau County and other parts of the third district must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress,” she stated. “No one is above the law and if a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it.”
One spokesperson for the Nassau County District Attorney’s office explained to the Associated Press that they were “looking into the matter.”
Letitia James (D), the Attorney General of New York, stated this past week that her office was investigating the claims against Santos.
Santos has also been made to deal with increasing levels of pressure from within the Republican Party for his allegedly false statements, with quite a few saying that a Republican-controlled House of Representatives should investigate Santos if he is sworn into office.
Another recent question surrounding Santos involves his supposed Jewish ancestry. One outlet, The Forward, reported this past Wednesday that the congressman blatantly lied when he stated that his grandparents ran away from anti-Jewish persecution during World War II. Instead, an extensive genealogical search discovered that his mother’s parents were actually born in Brazil instead of Belgium or Ukraine, as was expressed by his campaign website, as reported by The Forward.
The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) issued a response to the claims from Santos in a release that he was no longer allowed to attend their events.
“We are very disappointed in Congressman-elect Santos,” stated the RJC. “He deceived us and misrepresented his heritage. In public comments and to us personally he previously claimed to be Jewish. He has begun his tenure in Congress on a very wrong note. He will not be welcome at any future RJC event.”
.@RJC statement on Congressman-Elect George Santos pic.twitter.com/cPc8O56XEl
— RJC (@RJC) December 27, 2022
