Lying Long Island Rep. George Santos stands by his claims that he is “Jewish” and said Sunday that he consulted with a genealogist to prove that his grandparents really fled the Holocaust.
The embattled 35-year-old Republican revealed during an interview on CNN that he has spent the past 10 months testing his DNA and working with a genealogist to prove his claims about his heritage.
“That’s something I’m going to… try before I die,” Santos told CNN’s Manu Raju on “Inside Politics” in a segment that aired Sunday, after noting that he has not yet acquired documentation.
“Unfortunately, Ukraine is in the middle of a damn war and my grandfather comes from Ukraine,” he said.
“I’m working to finish getting the last pieces,” he continued of the evidence that his family fled the Holocaust. “Specifically the piece… where they go to Brazil and then they have documents falsified.
“Once I have everything ready, I will happily allow the same contracted company to present the report to the press.”
Santos: Oh, that’s true. I spent the last ten months at ADN, hiring genealogists. Raju: Is there documentation of this?
Santos: Unfortunately Ukraine is in the middle of a war and my grandfather came from Ukraine pic.twitter.com/Dm9t7l43Uy
– Acyn (@Acyn) November 5, 2023
Santos stressed that he is Catholic and comes from a Jewish family, despite questions about that story and the lack of documentation to prove it.
“I never said I was Jewish,” he insisted. “I always joked for years that she was ‘Jewish.’ “I was raised Roman Catholic…everyone thought it was funny.”
Shortly after winning a narrow victory in New York’s competitive 3rd District last November, Santos found himself embroiled in controversy amid revelations that he fabricated vast swaths of his backstory.
George Santos insists he’s not lying about his “Jewish” backstory. Getty Images
“Hell in the deepest way,” Santos responded Sunday when asked what the last year has been like for him.
But Santos, who faces a 23-count indictment for allegedly embezzling funds and lying to Congress, added that he has no regrets about running for office.
Sitting across from Raju, Santos reviewed his accusation and professed his innocence.
New: interview with George Santos.
We talk about his charges – His campaign treasurer accuses him of participating in a fraudulent fundraising scheme (he denies it) – Making false statements to the House (he says it was a “mistake”) – Allegedly receiving $24,000 in benefits for unemployment pic.twitter.com/Ba6JYHmDwH
-Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 5, 2023
“Those conversations haven’t been had yet,” he responded when asked about a plea deal.
Among the accusations against him are allegations that he cooked the books to make his campaign finances appear larger than they were in order to qualify for a program to attract Republican Party resources.
“I have never, ever presented or even seen a single report,” Santos said. “As for all the accusations, remember how a campaign works. “I am a candidate, candidates do not handle money.”
The congressman faces a 23-count accusation.REUTERS
Prosecutors have alluded to emails and text messages that they believe demonstrate guilt. They also blocked a guilty plea from Santos’ former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, last month.
“I would love to see them,” Santos joked when asked about the alleged communications. “It’s really easy to take things out of context.”
One thing he strongly denied were allegations that he falsely claimed to have loaned his campaign around $500,000, even though his bank accounts registered less than $8,000 at the time.
“I can guarantee you that I carried out the financial loan campaign that appears in the file,” he said. “I would be very interested to know where they get that information from. “I’m going to defend that totally.”
He also distanced himself from accusations of using campaign donors’ money for personal expenses.
“Every time people say, Oh, they charged me again, we’ll refund them. As far as I know, it is in the reports,” she said. “I can say that I did not handle donations.”
Santos’ campaign fundraising plummeted during the third quarter, turning negative and posting $123,000 more in debt than previously reported.
Members of the New York Republican delegation backed an effort to expel Santos from the House. Getty Images
Last week, he survived an attempt in Congress to expel him from the House, championed by five fellow freshman New York Republicans.
“At that moment I understood the politics that [it] “The size of your audience doesn’t matter about political expediency,” Santos said, reflecting that it was a ploy by his colleagues to “save face locally at home.”
Those who supported the attempt to overthrow him cited his blatant lies to the public about his college attendance and other details about his biography.
“Insecurity, stupidity, I don’t know,” he responded when asked why he lied. “Look, I’m human, we make mistakes. “I have apologized and will continue to apologize profusely for this with remorse.”
Santos believes he can still win re-election in 2024.Getty Images
The congressman also faces an investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which will release its findings on November 17.
Santos faces tough Republican competition in the primary and general elections, but said he believes he can prevail and that “there is no predetermined outcome.”
“No one chose me because I play volleyball or not. No one chose me because I graduated from college or not. “People chose me because I said I would come here to fight the swamp,” she stressed.
Santos was inspired to run for office by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.JCRice
During the lively exchange, Santos revealed that he was inspired to run for office by progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
“AOC was my inspiration. Most people don’t know it,” Santos reflected. “I always felt that it was necessary to be Kennedy, Bush or Clinton to be in politics.”
“She is a feisty girl. She’s where I’m from,” she added. “She showed that everyone can do this. “It doesn’t matter right or left.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn