Candidates in the recent election for New York’s 3rd Congressional District Robert Zimmerman (L) and George Santos. (Screen captures via YouTube)
Media reports this week have ignited demands for the resignation of incoming freshman gay Republican Rep. George Santos (N.Y.-3) and calls for investigations by congressional ethics and election officials and law enforcement agencies.
The New York Times published an investigative story Dec. 19 that drew renewed attention to issues concerning Santos’s alleged financial malfeasance along with misrepresentations, lies and omissions concerning a variety of subjects.
Many, perhaps most, of the details in this report were covered prior to the election by other press outlets, mostly serving smaller local media markets, as well as by Santos’s gay Democratic opponent Robert Zimmerman.
Nevertheless, until this week little attention was paid to the revelations about and questions concerning Santos – from his alleged falsification of key details about his biography to his failure to list the clients of his asset management firm in congressional financial disclosures.
Santos has not responded publicly except through a statement provided by his attorney Joe Murray, who wrote: “After four years in the public eye, and on the verge of being sworn in as a member of the Republican led 118th Congress, the New York Times launches this shotgun blast of attacks,” Murray said in a statement.
Murray also accused the paper of launching attacks against Santos to smear “his good name with these defamatory allegations.”
Santos’s victory for New York’s 3rd congressional district was a mild upset in a midterm election cycle that cost Democrats their control of the House only narrowly. So, when renewed attention was drawn to the race this week, questions mounted about whether Democrats had failed to adequately warn voters about Santos’s conduct and record.
At the same time, Republican officials in New York and Washington were blamed for either ignoring the issues with their candidate or failing to adequately vet him.
Log Cabin Republicans President Charles Moran declined to comment because Santos has not yet personally addressed the allegations against him.
The questions about financial impropriety and possible violations of elections laws may raise the specter of serious consequences for Santos. Responding to this week’s reporting, Zimmerman joined a chorus of voices on Twitter who called for investigations by the House Ethics Committee, Federal Elections Commission and U.S. Attorney’s office.
Legal issues aside, the breadth of matters about which it appears Santos has lied, misrepresented, or omitted key facts is remarkable.
The Times reported, for instance, that Citigroup and Goldman Sachs said they had no record of Santos ever working there, despite his repeated claims to the contrary. The paper also noted that public records contradict Santos’s assertion that four of his employees were killed in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting.
The Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus did not respond to a request for comment.
