CNN
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GOP Rep.-elect George Santos of New York admitted in two separate interviews on Monday to mendacity about components of his resume however claimed that he hasn’t dedicated any crimes and intends to serve in Congress.
Santos has faced scrutiny over discrepancies in his employment and schooling historical past, in addition to different public claims he has made about his biography. In interviews with WABC radio and the New York Put up – the primary instances Santos has spoken publicly in regards to the controversy – he acknowledged that he had fabricated some info.
“I’m not a felony. Not right here, not overseas, in any jurisdiction on the earth have I ever dedicated any crimes,” Santos mentioned in an interview with WABC radio host John Catsimatidis.
“To get all the way down to the nit and gritty, I’m not a fraud. I’m not a felony who defrauded your entire nation and made up this fictional character and ran for Congress. I’ve been round a very long time. I imply, lots of people know me. They know who I’m. They’ve finished enterprise dealings with me,” he added.
“I’m not going to make excuses for this, however lots of people overstate of their resumes, or twist a little bit bit. … I’m not saying I’m not responsible of that,” he mentioned.
Santos additionally admitted that he by no means labored straight for the monetary corporations Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, as he has beforehand prompt, however claimed that he did do work for them by his firm, telling the New York Post it was a “poor selection of phrases” to say he labored for them.
He additionally instructed the Put up that he didn’t graduate from any school or college, regardless of claiming he had levels from Baruch School and New York College.
Reporter who broke the inconsistencies of GOP Rep.-elect Santos’ resume says there’s extra to discover
“I didn’t graduate from any establishment of upper studying. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he instructed the Put up, including that he owns as much as that and that “we do silly issues in life.”
He instructed WABC, “I wish to make it possible for if I upset anybody by resume embellishment, I’m sorry.”
The New York Occasions first revealed final week that Santos’ biography seemed to be partly fictional. CNN confirmed particulars of that reporting, together with about his school schooling and employment historical past.
CNN’s KFile also reported final week that claims by Santos that his grandparents “survived the Holocaust” as Ukrainian Jewish refugees from Belgium who modified their surname are contradicted by sources together with household timber compiled by family tree web sites, information on Jewish refugees and interviews with a number of genealogists. A lawyer for Santos had declined to remark to CNN.
“I by no means claimed to be Jewish,” Santos instructed the Put up. “I’m Catholic. As a result of I discovered my maternal household had a Jewish background I mentioned I used to be ‘Jew-ish.’”
Santos had mentioned he was “very proud” of his “Jewish heritage” as just lately as a late November 2022 appearance with the Jewish Information Syndicate.
CNN has reached out to Home GOP management and the Nationwide Republican Congressional Committee within the wake of Santos’ admissions. Home GOP management was silent amid final week’s revelations. Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy wouldn’t reply CNN’s questions Thursday when requested if he was involved about obvious misrepresentations.
Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman in a newly drawn district masking components of Queens and a few close by Lengthy Island suburbs, flipping management to Republicans, who dominated the New York suburbs on their method to profitable a Home majority.
It was Santos’ second run – he misplaced to Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi in 2020 – and a lot of the criticism he confronted throughout his latest marketing campaign centered on his attendance of former President Donald Trump’s rally in Washington on January 6, 2021, and a video through which he claimed to have written a “good examine” to assist alleged rioters with their authorized charges.
This story has been up to date with extra context.
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