George Santos Finally Explains

A week after the New York Times raised questions about George Santos' resumé, which were later followed by questions about his supposed Jewish heritage, the congressman-elect is responding, just as he promised he would. In an interview with the New York Post, the New York Republican admits to lying about his education and career history, but says he still plans to take the oath of office Jan. 3. Two biggies: He never graduated from college despite claiming he had, and he never worked directly for Goldman Sachs or Citigroup. More:

• Career history: Santos explained that he was vice president of a company, LinkBridge, that did business with both of the aforementioned firms. "I will be clearer about that. It was stated poorly," he said. But in its own follow-up, the Times notes that previous versions of Santos' website included very specific references to being employed by Citigroup and Goldman Sachs before his time at LinkBridge.
• Educational history: As for the college lie, he said, "I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resumé. I own up to that … We do stupid things in life."

• More: Santos acknowledged other parts of the Times exposé, including a judgment against him for unpaid rent and a bounced check (he says his family was in debt due to his mother's cancer battle at the time and he forgot to pay it after she died) and his false claim that he owns 13 properties (he doesn't own any and currently lives with his sister).
• Defense: But he pushed back on others, including the Times' allegation of a criminal charge filed against him in Brazil ("I am not a criminal here—not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world"). In its follow-up, the Times reasserts that Brazilian court records show otherwise.
• Judaism: As for his supposed Jewish background, Santos says he "never claimed to be Jewish," only "Jew-ish." He still insists his maternal grandmother told him stories about converting to Catholicism from Judaism. He says he's "clearly Catholic."

• Gay or not? Santos also got into his personal life. He's the first openly gay, non-incumbent Republican ever elected to the House of Representatives, but the Daily Beast last week reported he was married to a woman until shortly before launching his first (unsuccessful) political campaign in 2020. Santos says he was indeed married to a woman from 2012 to 2017, but is now married to a man. "I dated women in the past. I married a woman. It’s personal stuff," he says. "I’m very much gay."
• More questions: The Times notes that one big unanswered question is how exactly Santos is currently earning millions from his company, the Devolder Organization, not to mention what exactly that company does. The newspaper also notes that Santos "has not fully accounted for his employment during the years that he had claimed that he was advancing on Wall Street."
• Pulse nightclub: Santos also did a WABC radio interview in which disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner and John Catsimatidis, a supermarket magnate and major GOP donor, interviewed him. During that sit-down, Santos changed his story about having lost four employees in the Pulse nightclub shooting. Rather, he said, those people were in the process of getting hired by a company he was starting up at the time, he says.
• Vow: On the WABC interview, Santos insisted, "I will be sworn in, I will take office."
• Bottom line: The Times notes he'll likely still be seated in Congress as planned, since the House can only prevent that from happening if an elected candidate has violated the age, citizenship, and state residency requirements outlined in the Constitution. He could face ethics probes once seated. And if he's found to have left out or misrepresented information on any of his congressional financial disclosures, that could be a federal crime. Democrats, of course, were calling for his resignation, the Hill reports.

(More George Santos stories.)