Rep-elect George Santos (R-NY) admitted to fabricating parts of his resume in two separate interviews on Monday, but says he intends to serve in the next Congress anyway.
A New York Times investigation earlier this month found that much of Santos’ backstory doesn’t add up. Santos, 34, claimed he worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs though neither financial firms have proof of his employment. He also claimed to have graduated from Baruch College and New York University, earning degrees in finance and economics. Both institutions say they do not have any records to indicate that Santos was ever a student.
Santos responded to the Times’ investigation for the first time on Monday in two interviews with WABC radio and the New York Post and admitted to fabricating key parts of his resume.
“I am not a criminal. Not here, not abroad, in any jurisdiction in the world have I ever committed any crimes,” Santos reportedly told WABC. “I’m not a fraud. 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.”
Santos admitted that he “never worked directly” for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, in an interview with New York Post, also on Monday. He said that a company he worked for did business with both of them.
He also admitted that he did not graduate “from any institution of higher learning.”
“My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry,” Santos told the Post.
Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman by 8 points in the November midterms to fill the seat of Democrat Rep. Tom Suozzi, who did not seek reelection.
Santos said on Monday that he intends to serve his full term in Congress.
[Image: Mikayla Whitmore/NYT]
