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Rep. George Santos (RN.Y.) is beginning to emerge from days of silence following explosive reports in The New York Times and elsewhere detailing key elements of his past that he apparently misrepresented.
In various interviews, Santos has admitted to “embellishing” his resume.
He told the New York Post that he “didn’t graduate from any college” and that it was a “bad choice of words” before saying he had worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. He worked for a company called LinkBridge, he said, which did business with the two other companies and helped “inject capital” through “limited partnerships.”
But questions remain about the influx of personal wealth he used to fund his campaign, a check fraud charge in Brazil he has denied, his alleged ties to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting, work with a rescue group animals and its heritage, among other issues.
Santos, who has made only limited statements to the press amid the fallout, did not respond to an email seeking clarification on those points.
These are some of the questions that remain:
Santos’ personal finances
Substantial personal loans by Santos for his campaign, along with a sharp jump in his reported personal wealth, have led to questions about how he got his money.
Federal Election Commission filings show Santos loaned his campaign at least $580,000 during his 2022 bid and nearly $80,000 during his 2020 bid. In total, Santos raised nearly $3 million from all sources during his 2022 campaign.
Financial disclosure forms filed with the Clerk of the House in 2020 and 2022 show a significant jump in Santos’ personal wealth in the following years. His 2020 financial disclosure says he made $55,000 from LinkBridge Investors in the previous year and lists no other assets, income or liabilities.
But just two years later, Santos reported bringing in a $750,000 salary from his company, the Devolder Organization. He said in an interview that his campaign loans came from that salary.
He also reported having between $1 million and $5 million in a savings account, between $100,001 and $250,000 in a checking account, and an apartment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, valued at between $500,001 and $1,000,000.
Santos formed Devolder in May 2021, according to documents filed with the Florida Secretary of State. His campaign website previously said his company managed $80 million in assets, but that claim has since been removed. The Washington Post reported that financial data firm Dun & Bradstreet estimated in July 2022 that Devolder had revenue of only about $43,688. Santos’ disclosures did not disclose any clients.
New York Democrat Richie Torres called on the House Ethics Committee to investigate how Santos made his money.
Apartment and property in Rio
Santos’ financial disclosure of an apartment valued between $500,001 and $1 million in Rio de Janeiro contradicts his more recent statements that he owns no property.
The representative-elect’s previous claims that his family managed 13 properties were scrutinized by The New York Times, which revealed eviction proceedings against him for unpaid rent.
Santos told the New York Post this week that he personally owns no property and currently lives with his sister.
Check fraud claims in Brazil
The New York Times reported that in 2008, Santos was accused of stealing the checkbook of a man his mother cared for in Brazil and charged with two fraudulent purchases. Santos was 19 years old at the time.
The report said Santos confessed to the crime, but the case remains unsolved, according to the local prosecutor and the court in Brazil.
Santos was defiant about the accusation.
“I am not a criminal. I have committed absolutely no crimes. I am not a wanted criminal in any jurisdiction,” Santos told City & State in an interview.
Contact Pulse Nightclub Shooting Victims
Santos said in a November interview with WNYC that his company at the time “lost four employees” in the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016. A New York Times review found that none of the 49 victims appeared to have worked for any of the companies to which Santos was connected.
In response to a question from former Congressman Anthony Weiner (DN.Y.) on WABC radio this week, Santos said that no one who died in the Pulse nightclub shooting worked directly for his company, but that they were in process of hired.
“We had people who were hired to work for the company at the time. … We were really looking for people who were going to come and work for the company that I started in Orlando,” Santos said.
It is still unclear which individuals Santos was referring to or if they were indeed in the process of being hired.
Animal rescue charity
A New York Times investigation found no record of Friends of Pets United, an animal rescue group Santos said he was involved with, being a tax-exempt organization registered with the IRS. It also said that one person who was supposed to benefit from a fundraiser organized by Friends of Pets United never received those funds and that Santos apologized for not sending the money.
Santos told City & State in an interview that he was part of a group of people involved in the effort, and that he helped find homes for the animals and clean up after them.
“I was the guy who did the poop cleanup, got people to campaign online,” Santos said.
He also said the effort is being looked into and more about the animal charity is “TBA.”
Family heritage and Jewish ancestry
Santos’ bio states that his maternal grandparents “fled Jewish persecution in the Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and fled persecution again during World War II” before his mother was born in Brazil.
But reports in the Forward, a Jewish publication, and CNN say genealogy records show his grandparents were born in Brazil before World War II.
Santos told the New York Post this week that his grandmother told him stories about being Jewish before she converted to Catholicism. He also added that he is not a Jew, but a practicing Catholic who is a “Jew”, of Jewish descent.
And he told WABC that he understands that his grandparents were not born in Brazil, as genealogical records show.
“My grandfather, Ukrainian origin, my grandmother, Belgian. So that’s the story. He goes from Ukraine to Belgium, they go to Brazil,” Santos said.
Earlier this year, Santos spoke at a Republican Jewish Coalition event. The organization has now condemned Santos.
“We are very disappointed with Congressman-elect Santos. He deceived us and misrepresented his heritage. In public comments and to us personally, he has previously claimed to be Jewish. He started his term in Congress on a very wrong note. He will not be welcome at any future RCJ event,” Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks said in a statement Tuesday.
Previous marriage
The buzz surrounding Santos’ parentage also led to the Daily Beast revealing a previous marriage to a woman.
Santos was the first openly gay, non-acting Republican elected to the House.
His first marriage ended just 12 days before he began his campaign for Congress, the Daily Beast reported. Santos also says he is currently married to a man and previously referred to him as a fiance in campaign materials, but the Daily Beast could find no record of that marriage.
Santos addressed his previous marriage to City & State.
“I got married really young and married a young woman at the time and we were pretty much in love. And then we weren’t,” Santos said. “I decided after a long time, like many who don’t, to come out and say, ‘I’m gay and I’m not going to take you with me, and this is toxic and this relationship is not going to work.’ And I freed myself and freed her.
How Republican leaders are responding
While Democrats have widely called for Santos to resign or not be sworn in, many top Republicans have remained silent on his fabrications and embellishments.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) did not respond to questions about Santos at the Capitol last week.
However, a trickle of condemnation from Republicans is beginning to emerge.
Nassau County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Cairo said Tuesday he was “deeply disappointed in Mr. Santos” and expected “more than just a general apology.”
Another New York representative-elect, Nick LaLotta (R), on Tuesday called for “a full investigation by the House Ethics Committee and, if necessary, law enforcement” of Santos. And newly elected Anthony D’Esposito (RN.Y.) I said that “Santos’ fabrications about the Holocaust and his family’s history are particularly damaging.”
Santos said he would not resign.
“I’m not resigning,” Santos told City & State, saying that if he were to leave Congress, “it would be by pink slip from the voters, November 2024.”
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