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The Nassau County Republican Committee and dozens of local elected GOP officials from New York made a “major announcement” Wednesday about new Rep. George Santos, RN.Y. which is studied by the federal and local legislature for embellishing the key elements of the resume.
The Republican county political committee, chaired by Joseph Cairo, said in a press release announcing the event that Santos is a “disgraceful” member of Congress, but he did not elaborate on his upcoming comments. Santos has been caught embellishing and, at times, outright lying, about his past, including claims he worked on Wall Street.
Santos apologized to anyone who was “disappointed by the embellishment of his resume,” but he emphatically denied committing a crime.
Cairo previously said Santos had “undermined public trust by misrepresenting his background, experience and education, among other issues.” As a member of Congress, Santos represents parts of Queens and Nassau County, the Long Island region of New York. House Republican leadership has been quiet about Santos since he was sworn into Congress.
“Obviously, he’s addressed some of the concerns that we’ve had. In New York, he’s also had a lot of internal conversations. But in the end, you know, he sat down, no one objected to him sitting down,” House Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R- La., told CNBC on Wednesday after being asked if Santos would serve a two-year term.
Santos said all he was guilty of was building his resume and not committing a crime.
The lies and embellishments told during the election also led to an investigation by the prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York who examined Santos’ finances, including possible irregularities related to financial disclosures and loans of more than $ 700,000 Santos to the campaign while he was running. for Congress during the 2022 midterms, according to NBC News.
The Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog, filed an ethics complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Santos on Monday for allegedly violating campaign finance laws. Santos told reporters that he did not do anything unethical.
Santos’ fundraising efforts during his 2022 success are also based on several false claims he made about his past. He would suggest to donors that he was Jewish when he was not and lied to people who worked for Wall Street banks who had no records of his work. Santos’ campaign staff is Kevin McCarthy’s chief of staff to raise money for the campaign, CNBC and The Washington Times reported.