Rep. George Santos admits being a 'terrible liar' while doubling down on some of his most dubious claims
Rep. George Santos, R-N.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 "Jew-ish" ancestry.
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., admitted to being "a terrible liar" in an interview this week, while also continuing to push dubious claims about his mother's having been in the Twin Towers on 9/11 and his "Jew-ish" ancestry.
Host Piers Morgan grilled Santos about how he thought he could get away with the numerous fabrications on his résumé, including claims that he graduated from a college he never attended. Santos said he didn't think he'd ever be found out, because "I ran in 2020 for the same exact seat for Congress, and I got away with it then."
The 40-minute discussion aired Monday on YouTube. Questions about Santos' biography have swirled since a New York Times investigation last year showed that much of his background appeared to have been manufactured, including claims that he owned numerous properties, was previously employed by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and had attended and graduated from Baruch College.
Santos told Morgan, "I have been a terrible liar." But, he added, "this wasn't about tricking people. This was about getting accepted by the party here locally." He later sought to blame vague issues in local politics, saying: "This stems more deeper into the political apparatus and the political culture of New York state. And that would take a lot more time than this program to go over to explain."
The Times report also raised questions about how he was able to lend his congressional campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars, and subsequent reporting has raised additional questions about his claims of Jewish heritage and his mother's death's being tied to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Rating: 5