Screenshot via CBS New York
Embattled Republican congressman-elect George Santos (R-NY) admitted he lied about his credentials during a Monday interview with the New York Post.
Santos has been rocked by allegations he lied during his campaign about his education, work history, and personal life. While speaking with the Post, Santos said he did indeed fabricate details about his life.
He admitted he lied about his education and other aspects of his past, but said the fabrications were not “criminal.” He also vowed to finish his full two-year term in the House. The Post reported:
“I am not a criminal,” Santos said at one point during his exclusive interview. “This [controversy] will not deter me from having good legislative success. I will be effective. I will be good.”
Santos’s professional biography was called into question earlier this month after the New York Times reported that he misrepresented a number of claims, including where he attended college and his alleged employment history with high-profile Wall Street firms. “My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry,” Santos said on Monday.
Writing for The Times, reporters Grace Ashford and Michael Gold first reported last week Santos had embellished his resume while pitching his message to voters during his successful campaign to represent New York’s 3rd congressional district:
George Santos, whose election to Congress on Long Island last month helped Republicans clinch a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, built his candidacy on the notion that he was the “full embodiment of the American dream” and was running to safeguard it for others.
His campaign biography amplified his storybook journey: He is the son of Brazilian immigrants, and the first openly gay Republican to win a House seat as a non-incumbent.
The Times‘ reporting called into question Santos’ work history, education, personal life, and involvement with certain charities. He confirmed the reporting, including the fact he was married to a woman for five years in spite of running as a gay man.
“I dated women in the past,” he said. “I married a woman. It’s personal stuff.”
During his interview with the Post, Santos also called his past claims about working for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup a “poor choice of words.” He actually worked for a company called Link Bridge and was never affiliated with either bank.
“I will be clearer about that,” Santos said. “It was stated poorly.”
Santos also admitted he never graduated from Baruch College or anywhere else.
“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning,” he told the Post. “I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume.”
Santos concluded, “We do stupid things in life.”
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