Tulsi Gabbard questions Congressman-elect George Santos: ‘Do you have no shame?’
To make matters worse, a prosecutor in Santos’ legislative district has launched a probe into his ‘nothing short of astounding’ statements.
Republican congressman-elect George Santos is under fire on numerous fronts, including in a scathing interview with Tulsi Gabbard and a Long Island prosecutors’ inquiry, after confessing to lying about his background, schooling, and professional history.
Late Wednesday, George Santos was also questioned on social media over contradicting posts about his mother’s death. One post on his account said she died during the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, while another claimed she died in 2016. His official Twitter account appears to have sent the posts.
9/11 claimed my mothers life… so I’m blocking so I don’t ever have to read this again.
— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) July 13, 2021
December 23rd this year marks 5 years I lost my best friend and mentor. Mom you will live forever in my heart.
— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) December 23, 2021
Santos faced difficult questions from Gabbard, the former congresswoman and presidential candidate, during a Fox News interview on Tuesday. When asked about recent disclosures that his claims about his work and identity are riddled with lies and fake records. Santos said he is not a “fraud” in the interview.
The interview happened on the same day that new claims surfaced that he falsely claimed to be Jewish. And on Wednesday, prosecutors on Long Island said they were looking into the case, calling the fabrications and contradictions “nothing short of remarkable”.
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“The residents of Nassau County and other sections of the Third Congressional District need an honest and accountable representative in Congress,” said Republican Nassau County District Attorney Anne T Donnelly. “We will prosecute any crime perpetrated in this county.”
Even though George Santos informed the New York Post that he never claimed to be Jewish, there is evidence to the contrary. Santos has been outspoken about his status as a “proud American Jew”, and enjoyed prominence in Jewish media where he was celebrated as the “sole Jewish Republican member of New York’s House delegation”.
According to the New York Times, he often attended rabbinical events and campaigned in Jewish communities.
When asked about it, George Santos revealed to Gabbard that he is of Jewish descent but was reared Catholic. He stated he has joked that he is “Jew-ish”.
Santos, who also acknowledged to lying about graduating from Baruch College and working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, insisted that he was not a “fake” and that “everyone wants to nitpick” at him now.
But Gabbard put Santos on the spot by asking him how he defines “integrity”.
Santos began by discussing the need of integrity in politics, but Gabbard responded, “What does it mean? … Because the meaning of the phrase is important in practice.”
In the interview on Tuesday, he stated it was brave of him to disclose this on national television, but he did not apologize.
He argued that his “courage” in admitting it would qualify him to serve in his district, prompting Gabbard to question, “Do you have no shame?”
“Do you have no shame [inaudible] the people who are now you’re asking to trust you to go and be their voice for them, their families and their kids in Washington?” she asked, after clarifying that what he keeps referring to as “embellishments” on his resume are much bigger, “blatant lies”.
Santos reacted by shifting the question once more, this time to Democrats and Joe Biden. Whom he accused of lying to the American people for 40 years.
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When Gabbard pressed him more about his lies regarding his job at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, and how he can expect his voters to trust him, Santos stated the lies on his résumé are “debatable” and “not false at all”.
He went on to say that he could simply explain how things like private equity function.
“We can have this discussion that can go way beyond the American people’s head”,. He continued, “but that’s not what I campaigned on”.
“Wow,” Gabbard said in response. “You just underscored, I think, my fears and the concerns of folks back home – you’re saying that this discussion would go much above the heads of the American people, practically insulting their intelligence.”
Santos’ website has no information concerning his relationships with Baruch College, Goldman Sachs, or Citigroup as of Wednesday morning.
Despite growing doubts about his suitability for federal office, Santos has showed no signs of resigning. When the US House reconvenes next Tuesday, he will be sworn in. If he is elected, he may face investigations by the House Ethics Committee and the US Justice Department.
Long Island Republican Nick Lalota expressed concern over the revelations.
“I believe a thorough inquiry by the House ethics committee. As well as, if necessary, police enforcement,” Lalota said on Tuesday.
The New York Attorney General’s Office has already stated that it is investigating the issues that have surfaced.
Brendan Brosh, a spokesperson for the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, stated on Wednesday, “We are looking into the matter.” The investigation’s breadth was not immediately evident.
