GREAT NECK, NY — Just before Christmas, then-incoming Rep. George Santos, RN.Y., promised voters in his district that he would soon explain himself as revelations surfaced that embellished or fabricated parts of his biography.
“To the people of #NY03 I have my story to tell and it will be told next week”, Santos tweeted on December 22. “I want to assure everyone that I will answer your questions and that I remain committed to delivering the results I campaigned for; Public safety, inflation, education and more”.
More than a month has passed since that publication and Santos, although he has given some interviews to local and conservative media, including the new york post officeHe has only scratched the surface of the allegations he faces, which have risen sharply since his late-December tweet.
Santos himself apparently acknowledged that he has more to say, telling NBC News on January 9, «I’ll be addressing the media soon. In my time, okay?»
In New York’s 3rd Congressional District, voters who spoke to NBC News said they not only think their congressman has more explaining to do, but they don’t think his comments so far have sufficiently explained the issues at hand.
Roberta Stern, a moderate Republican from Great Neck who said she voted for Democrat Robert Zimmerman, Santos’ opponent last fall, said «it’s clear» Santos «hasn’t said enough.»
“I think being quiet for so long has really worked against him,” he said. «Now he’s in denial mode and seems to be doing his job and not really caring.»
At this point, Stern said that «it’s probably too little too late» for Santos to answer the litany of questions about his background, but added that «it can’t hurt.»
“I don’t see what I could say that’s going to make a difference,” he said. «But not saying anything, to me, is the worst response.»
Anthony, a Republican from the district who voted for Santos and asked that his full name not be released, told NBC News that he also did not think Santos had explained himself enough.
«He’s just avoiding it,» he said. She is building a wall. … He’s like a compulsive liar. I feel bad for the boy.»
Santos’ revelations began in earnest on December 19, when The New York Times published his bombshell investigation into the lies contained in Santos’s resume. That same day, representatives from Baruch College and New York University said NBC New York they had no record of Santos going to school there, despite his claims to the contrary. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs also said they could not find any employment records for him. days later, the Forward reported that Santos’s grandparents did not flee the Holocaust as he had claimed.
Those reports preceded his interview list. Santos said City and State New York who embellished his resume and defended himself in WABC radio alleging that he never committed crimes in his country or abroad. On a December 26 New York Post In an interview, Santos said he did not graduate from college and that his claim to have worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs amounted to a «poor choice of words.» In the same interview, he said that he never claimed to be Jewish, but that he was «Jewish».
This was simply the beginning of Santos’ infamous start in Congress, as he has become the topic of federal, state, local and international investigations, while Nassau County Republican leaders and more than half a dozen House Republican lawmakers, mostly from his home state, have called on him to resign.
In recent days, a Navy veteran accused Santos of raising $3,000 from a GoFundMe campaign to help his dying service dog; saints seemed deny this in a tweet, and new immigration documents obtained by NBC News and other outlets showed his mother was not in New York on 9/11 after he claimed she was in one of the twin towers that day. (He has not addressed this claim.)
After footage surfaced showing Santos dressed in drag, Santos insisted that it was «categorically untrue» that he had ever performed as a drag queen. Confronted Saturday by reporters as he walked via LaGuardia Airport in New York CitySantos addressed the reports by saying, «I was young and having fun at a festival, sue me for having a life.»
A person close to Santos’ campaign operation said he understood the initial New York Post interview to be an effort by Santos to explain himself to voters in his district.
“Obviously there has been a spate of things coming out since then,” this person added, noting that Santos has been busy addressing some new claims on Twitter more recently.
This person said that much of the response is being «dictated» by Santos’ lawyers, who «are in charge of this.» The seat itself, this person said, is Santos’ best advantage moving forward, particularly with the slim majority that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., enjoys and Santos’ critical vote to secure McCarthy. The presidency.
“You can see where this is headed,” this person said. “It is the second full week of the Congress and there is a long road ahead. And voters have very short memories.”
Representatives for Santos did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Sunday afternoon, Saints tweeted he has «a surprise for the ‘journalists’ assigned to guard one side of my office… can’t wait to see them!»
As Stern contemplated Santos’ ordeal, he told NBC News that the entire situation has become «an embarrassment» for the district.
A Survey of the College of Siena released Monday showed that many New York voters appear to agree with Stern’s assessment. Only 16% of New York voters said they viewed Santos favorably, including just 15% of Republicans. Additionally, 59% of New York voters said Santos should resign, while only 17% said no. Limited to just Republicans, a significant plurality favored Santos’s resignation.
The scandal, Stern said, is «sort of an indication of what is wrong with this country and what you can get away with if you have a little bit of power.»